Machakos county governor Dr. Alfred Mutua has castigated individuals who have moved to court to oppose the new currencies.
The governor said saying there is nothing wrong with the first president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s statue being in the notes.
Speaking when he met traders at Machakos market Thursday, the governor said debate on what pictures are on our currency is weak.
Dr Mutua said there is a difference between a statue and a portrait. He said what we have is a statue of our founding father Mzee Jomo Kenyatta on the new notes.
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” There is lot of excitement about the new currencies with some people running to court about them even though, I bet they have not even seen or held any of the new notes. Some people really need to stop being simplistic. There is a difference between a STATUE and a PORTRAIT. What we have is a statue of our founding father Mzee Jomo Kenyatta on the new notes. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. People complaining would be Ok if it was a statue of a lion or giraffe.” He said.
“Are those animals more important than our founding father Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and our heroes? A society that chooses to bash and disregard those who transformed it from colonial imperialism to the freedom we enjoy today is a doomed society. Mzee Jomo Kenyatta is in the books of history together with other great African founding fathers such as Nkrumah, Nyerere, Kaunda, Senghor, Nasser, Lumumba, Samora Machel and Mandela. You cannot wish Mzee Jomo Kenyatta away. What we should be saying is, let us have different statues of our heroes in different notes: Tom Mboya’s statue, Dedan Kimathi’s, Paul Ngei’s, Oginga Odinga’s, Wangari Maathai etc.” He added.
The Machakos governor said the value of money is not what picture or colour that is on it.
” There is nothing wrong of our currency notes having a depiction of our heroes. Would those complaining also wish us to remove names of heroes from streets and so now have Twiga Avenue, Simba Highway, Ndovu road, Fisi street? Let us get serious. The VALUE of money is not what picture or colour that is on it. The value of money is how strong and useful the currency is. How strong is the shilling against the Euro and dollar?” Said the Governor.
Mutua says the value of the currency and its impact on the economy is what we should be discussing, because it is what matters to Wananchi and not which statue or which animal is on a note.
“How much of that money can our people have in their pockets to educate their children, buy homes, buy food and clothes, travel, live a good life. The U.S. dollar is not strong because it has George Washington’s portrait on it. No. The dollar is strong because its value is high. What I want to see is a strong Kenyan shilling that can trade internationally and one whose purchasing power is felt by Wananchi as they get richer. A strong shilling means strong wages and better quality of life.” He said.
The Governor noted that with the challenges the country is facing of high unemployment, lack of money in circulation, runaway corruption, poor management of some affairs, trade imbalances and polarized politics, we should not get excited and engage in simplistic issues but up our game or remain a third world country forever.
According to activist Okiya Omtatah who has moved to court to challenge the new notes, the new general currency notes launched during the Madaraka Day celebrations is irregular.
He argues that the banknote violates the Constitution as they still contain the portraits of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.