CBK yet to send decrees on new currency to Parliament

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is yet to forward to Parliament three legal instruments ahead of rolling out of new currency in line with the law.

Under the Statutory Instruments Act of 2013, CBK was required to send the three statutes to the House for tabling, but Parliament says it has not received any of them.

The statutes include Legal Notice on description of new issue of Sh1, Sh5, Sh10 and Sh20 coins.

The second one is Legal Notice on description of new issue of Sh50, Sh100, Sh200 and Sh1,000 currency notes, while the third one is Kenya Gazette Notice on withdrawal of the Sh1,000 currency notes.

On June 27, National Assembly Clerk Michael Sialai confirmed that CBK was yet to send the instruments to MPs as per law.

“From our records, that is Hansard reports, Votes and Proceedings of the register of statutory instruments as set out in Section 11 (3) of the Statutory Instruments Act, we wish to confirm that Legal Notice No 235 of December 7, 2018, Legal Notice No 72 of May 31, 2019, and Legal Notice No 4849 of May 31, 2019 are yet to be transmitted to us to register and cause tabling in the National Assembly,” Mr Sialai said.

His response is contained in a letter to activist Okiya Omtatah, who had written to him the previous day seeking information as to whether CBK had followed the procedure. The activist has sued CBK for failing to adhere to the law while issuing new currency.

Last week Chief Justice David Maraga set up a three-judge bench to hear the case challenging the issuance of the new currency notes.