President Uhuru Kenyatta expressed what he loves most about the new look currency that he launched on Tuesday.
Uhuru commended the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) for taking into consideration the public's aspirations and ideas in the production of the new generation coins.
The money contains symbols that represent significant aspects of the nation which will serve as a means of preserving the Kenyan culture and passing relevant knowledge.
"A nation’s currency is not merely an instrument for exchange of value. The motifs & design elements on currencies present a unique way of recording history, celebrating a country’s diverse culture and natural environment. The new coins have aspects that best describe our country,” read Uhuru’s tweet
He also stated that the coins have features that make them more accessible to the visually impaired.
The introduction of the new currency was in line with the constitutional requirement that barred Kenya from printing money containing the face of a president.
Wallace Kantai, who heads the Communications department at the Central Bank told Kenyans.co.ke that new look currency notes would be launched soon.
In the new design, a one shilling coin now bears the image of a giraffe, a five shilling coin bears the image of a rhino, a Kshs 10 coin bears the image of a lion while a Kshs 20 coin bears the image of an elephant.
Circulation of the new coins will commence immediately with a total cost of printing new currency expected to hit Kshs11 billion.
However, the company that won the tender to mint money, De La Rue, has claimed that it will require Kshs15 billion to complete the currency overhaul.
