CBK's New Banknotes Printing Mystery: MPs Summon Kamau Thugge Over Tender To German Firm
- The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) unveiled four changes to the new Kenyan banknotes introduced in 2019
- Kamu Thugge revealed that a German legal tender firm will replace De La Rue in the printing of the notes, describing it as one of the best
- National Assembly Committee on Finance and Planning summoned Thugge to disclose the details of the firm, which he did not mention in the MPC brief
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TUKO.co.ke journalist Wycliffe Musalia has over five years of experience in financial, business, and technology reporting and offers deep insights into Kenyan and global economic trends.
The Central Bank of Kenya's (CBK) move to hire an undisclosed German firm to print banknotes has sparked debate over the past week.
CBK governor Kamau Thugge revealed during a Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) brief on Wednesday, August 7, that the German company was one of the best.
What MPs asked from CBK's banknote printing deal
Following the public debate, the National Assembly Committee on Finance and Planning summoned Thugge to disclose the details of the legal tender printer and the procurement procedure used.
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The committee led by Molo MP Kuria Kimani wants the CBK boss to explain how the firm was awarded the tender and how much the deal cost Kenyan taxpayers.
"We have written to CBK governor Kamau Thugge to appear before the committee on Tuesday, August 20, to answer pertinent questions over the banknote printing tender awarded to a German firm. We need to know about the name of the company, how it earned the tender and the cost of the deal," said Kuria, according
According to the EastAfican, Geman firms that print banknotes are Bundesdruckerei GmbH and Giesecke+Devrient GmbH, and the latter lost to De La Rue in 2018.
Why De La Rue exited banknote printing in Kenya
The German company is taking over after the former banknote printer De La Rue left the Kenyan market in 2023.
This came after De La Rue was implicated in a tax scandal amounting to KSh 1.1 billion.
In 2018, the UK-based firm won a three-year £85 million (KSh 10.9 billion) tender from CBK to design and produce Kenya's new-generation banknotes.
CBK's changes top new banknotes
Thugge introduced four changes to the new-generation banknotes, which are now KSh 50, KSh 100, KSh 200, KSh 500, and KSh 1,000.
These changes included the introduction of the CBK governor and the Treasury principal secretary's signature.
Other changes included the year of printing and new security threads with colour-changing effects.
Proofreading by Otukho Jackson, a multimedia journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke
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Members of Parliament summoned Kamau Thugge over banknote tender to a German firm.
CBK turns to German firm for printing new currency notes
Why Kenya had to procure new currency banknotes; CBK Governor - AfrinewsKE
