The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) broke its silence on the reported shortage of the new currency notes, that allegedly slowed down the Ksh 1,000 demonetization process.
Reports by Citizen Digital stated that CBK Governor, Patrick Njoroge, linked the reported glitch to the rollout of the new notes, an affair which has seen the majority of old notes retained.
“When we started off, the first batch of notes were there to give Kenyans a taste of the new currency. However, you should from this week, expect bank (Automated Teller Machines) ATMs to churn out new Kshs.1,000 notes,” declared Njoroge.
A senior banking official who spoke to Citizen Digital on condition of anonymity, revealed that banks reverted to the use of the old series Ksh 1,000 notes.
The also re-calibrated their ATMs to allow dispensing of old currency notes.
Despite the glitch, Njoroge assured Kenyans of the full-circle circulation of the new notes under the now reduced window of two months, to the night of September 30, 2019.
“We have a sound plan to ensure that new currency notes hit all parts of the country. We have two months to go and are convinced that the window is adequate to facilitate the entire demonetization process,” he added.
Old series Ksh1,000 notes will cease to become legal tender on October 1, 2019, with the CBK having ruled out any extensions to the deadline in a measure aimed at ridding the economy off proceeds from illicit trade and counterfeiting.
This comes after CBK was accused of keeping mum on why there was a shortage of the new currency, which had left banks confused.
A number of bank officials said that they started experiencing shortages from the second week, after configuring their ATMs which forced them to go back to the old currency notes that they have been mopping from the market.
The Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) said some lenders were experiencing temporary shortages and other operational challenges, but added that they should be fixed as soon as the CBK supplies them with the new currency.
