CBK Governor Dr Patrick Njoroge breaks the silence for shortage of new Sh1000 notes

by Adrian Opiyo · July 23, 2019

Late May before the launch of the new generation currency, the CBK Governor through a gazette notice said the Sh 1000 notes will cease to be a legal tender. Every person in possession of the old Sh1000 note had until October first to make sure they had exchanged the old Sh1000 notes. Through a process called demonetization the CBK said that it aimed at reducing the level of corruption and money laundering in the country. With the deadline that’s nearing there were concerns about the availability of the new Sh1000 note.

July was the worst hit month as many commercial banks were still issuing the old Sh1000 notes. This created a lot of confusion as the banks claimed that there were no enough notes and the CBK had not made any comments concerning the shortage of the new Sh1000 notes. The remarks were made as many ATMs in the country were still dispensing the old Sh 1000 notes. The sentiments were echoed by the chairman of the banking association claiming there was a glitch on the distribution of the new currency but once the CBK communicates all banks will be informed.

The CBK Governor has finally broken its silence on the issues through various interviews in the media yesterday. “When we started off, the first batch of notes was there to give Kenyans a taste of the new currency. However, you should from this week expect bank ATMs to churn out new Sh1000 notes,” he said. Well considering the fact that there has been a slow demonetization process I expected the CBK Governor to say maybe there will be an extension of the deadline but he was very resilient towards it. “We have a sound plan to ensure that the new currency notes hit all parts of the country. We have two months to go and am convinced that the window is adequate to facilitate the entire demonetization process,” that was his reply.

With the deadline around the corner hope the CBK will be able to hit its target and make sure every bank get the new currency. Only two months to go as being said by the CBK Governor.