Kenyans have had a raging national debate on whether the use of the term "banki" on the new currency should have been replaced with the word "benki" when refers to Central Bank of Kenya.
The term "Banki Kuu ya Kenya'' on the new notes was picked out by citizens who felt that the correct term should have been "Benki Kuu ya Kenya" as is written in Tanzanian notes.
CBK Governor, Patrick Njoroge, on Thursday, came out to clear the air and gave a brief history on how the term "Banki Kuu ya Kenya" came to be.
"On translation, back in 1964-66, the first proposal was to translate the institution’s name to Banki ya Katikati ya Kenya. John Michuki (PS Finance) gently rejected it and referred the question to Tom Mboya (Economic Planning Minister), who proposed that it be translated as Banki Kuu," Dr. Njoroge narrated.
It was former Minister Tom Mboya who then came up with the term that has been used ever since.
"Mboya, the Minister for Economic Planning, maintained that it was the translation of an English word, so ‘Banki’ and ‘Benki’ were both correct. It was decided deliberately that on currency, ‘Banki Kuu ya Kenya’ comes before Central Bank of Kenya'," the CBK boss continued.
He further quoted the Central Bank of Kenya Act which refers to the institution as Banki Kuu ya Kenya and not "Benki Kuu ya Kenya".
During the press conference, the CBK governor disclosed that there were no white surfaces on the banknotes, making it less easy for the new generation banknotes to get dirty.
"There is also a varnish applied to the notes to keep them cleaner," he added.
He also maintained that there will be no extension of the October 1, 2019 deadline for the withdrawal of the old Ksh1,000 banknotes.
