De La Rue To Print Kenya’s New Currency, Court Rules

The Court of Appeal has overturned High  Court ruling that quashed De La Rue’s tender to print new currency for Kenya.

The court ruled that the Central Bank of Kenya followed the tendering procedure in awarding the printing of new-look currency to De La Rue Kenya.

The court, which has overturned a high court ruling, declared that CBK run a fair and transparent procurement process, clearing the way for the Sh10 billion a year tender.

High Court Judge George Odunga had agreed with activist Okiya Omtatah who wanted the tender quashed citing that De La Rue should not get a 15 percent preferential treatment.

But the Court of Appeal concurred with CBK’s application of local preference.

On January 12, the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB) cancelled the tender saying CBK erred by applying the 15 per cent margin preference.

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Swedish firm Crane AB was the least evaluated in price score during the bidding process.

Other firms interested in the lucrative contract for printing new notes included Giesecke and Devrient (German), and Oberthur Fiduciaire of France.

De La Rue, in a statement, welcomed the Appeals Court ruling saying it was delighted with the verdict.

“We have maintained throughout the process that the CBK had run a proper, fair and transparent procurement, and the court has today confirmed that view, as well as dismissing baseless accusations of collusion out of hand,” marketing director Robin Mackenzie said in a statement.

According to CBK estimates, the replacement of the old currency notes will cost Sh18 billion.

The Constitution-compliant new generation bank notes will be in 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 shilling denominations.