The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has settled on German company Giesecke+Devrient Currency Technologies GmbH (G+D) to print banknotes in a classified procurement process.
- The exit of De La Rue and looming stockout of currency banknotes (KSh1,000) prompted CBK to look for a banknote printer.
- CBK says the case of classified procurement became necessary in choosing the German printer to align the process of procuring currency to global practice where most countries procure currency in a classified manner.
- The request for the Classified procurement process was also in line with the guidance from the National Treasury, it thus sought approval from the Cabinet through the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury.
“Due to its national security implications, CBK’s request was initially considered by the National Security Council prior to its tabling before the full Cabinet. The Cabinet memo was signed by the CS National Treasury and the Attorney General,” said the Bank in a statement.
The deal with Giesecke+Devrient Currency Technologies GmbH (G+D) is worth Ksh14.2 billion spreading through five-year period. The design of the 2024-series banknotes is largely the same as the 2019 series. The new banknotes also bear the signatures of the CBK Governor and the PS National Treasury, as a Member of the Board, as has been practice since 1966.
The firm succeeds De La Rue which shut down its Nairobi plant in January last year, after fulfilling its contract to deliver the 2019-series banknotes.
Since 1966, the source of Kenyan Banknotes had been from De La Rue International (DLR) or its predecessors Thomas De La Rue & Company Limited (TDR) and Bradbury & Wilkinson of the United Kingdom, and which was taken over by TDR in 1986.
In October 1992, DLR established a factory in Kenya at Ruaraka, Nairobi County, and which thereafter printed the Kenyan Banknotes. The plant was solely owned by DLR, with the Government of Kenya through the National Treasury, acquiring a 40 per cent stake of De La Rue Kenya EPZ Limited (a Joint Venture (JV) with DLR) in 2017. This company printed the 2019 series of the Kenya Banknotes until January 2023.
All prior contracts were through Direct Procurement, except that for the 2019-series banknotes, which was subjected to a competitive bidding process. The process took five (5) years from the pre-qualification stage to delivery.
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