NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 20 – The government has received Sh7.4 billion from the Central Bank of Kenya to support efforts of containing the spread of coronavirus in the country.
CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge said the money was gained from the mop-up of the old 1000 shillings banknotes.
“As you recall in September last year, we concluded the demonetization of our currency relating to our old generation one thousand banknotes. That matter was concluded and as a result of that, Sh7.4 billion worth of banknotes never came back to the system,” Njoroge said.
“That money would have been held by people who, for whatever reason, did not want to subject themselves to the checks that were in place. So most likely this was money that might have been illicitly acquired through the various channels that we have talked about in other forums,” he added.
While receiving the money, President Uhuru Kenyatta said the money, “That money goes to help our health facilities and our health workers.”
The government has been receiving the money to fight the pandemic, including Sh6.1 billion from World Bank earlier this week.
The pandemic has left more than 10,000 and infected more than 240,000 people since December.
