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Lewis Njoka @LewisNjoka

Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Patrick Njoroge yesterday defended the quality of the new generation currency notes, saying they are superior to the previous ones and compare well with those used by similar economies.

The banknotes currently in use were introduced in September 2019 replacing older ones which contained portraits of Kenya’s past presidents.

The replacement sought to comply with a requirement of Constitution 2010 that Kenyan currency should not have a human portrait.

“The new banknotes are technically superior to the older notes,” Njoroge said.

Njoroge spoke when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance where he had been invited to shed light on the quality of the new generation currency notes.

The committee had earlier sought to know why the quality of the new generation currency seemed poorer compared to the previous one.

Most circulated

During the sitting, nominated Senator Rose Nyamunga lamented the quality of the Sh50 note wondering why CBK picked a low quality product yet the banknote is the most circulated in the country.

Her sentiments were echoed by nominated Senator Millicent Omanga who observed that there was a scarcity of the Sh500 note in the country, a claim Njoroge refuted.

“The quality for sure is telling,” Omanga said. The committee chairman Charles Kibiru advised Central Bank to conduct a survey to find out if there were quality issues with the currency as alleged.

Emphasing the superiority of the new notes, Njoroge singled out advanced security features and features for the visually impaired.