When kenya announced in June that it would issue new1,000 shilling ($10) notes and destroy the old ones to fight corruption, many predicted chaos. India's efforts to do the same by "demonetising" rupees in 2016 led to riots, deaths and a dent in economic growth. Few doubted the need for Kenya to do something: corruption and tax evasion are pervasive. Tax revenue as a share of gdp has slipped steadily since 2014 to less than 16%, which is less than half of the average of countries in the oecd. The central bank hoped that by abolishing the old notes it would flush out criminals and well-heeled tax dodgers when they brought out large sums of hidden cash to exchange for the new notes.
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