The waqf governance framework in Senegal

Abstract

Waqf has been in practice in Senegal since the 11th century and played an important role in society by providing social services to the Muslims society. Given such importance, the government went further to enact a law which was deemed amicable for the practice of Waqf. However, with the passing of time the practice of Waqf gradually declined and it became apparent that several factors had undermined the full potential of Waqf in the socio-economic development of Senegal. Fortunately, this has caught the attention of scholars who have been motivated to identify the causes of such decline the practice of waqf and to seek ways of reviving Waqf in Senegal. These efforts however have been more theoretical than pragmatic in nature. A pertinent aspect that has been considered is the Waqf Act and the management issues which most of these scholars considered as an impediment to the development of Waqf in the country. There was also the issue of lack of qualification and knowledge among most people in Senegal about Waqf. Despite this, no detailed study has been conducted to investigate thus issues, thus the novelty of this current study is to examine the Waqf governance framework in Senegal. This study adopts the qualitative method using semi-structured interviews with six academicians and experts in Islamic finance. The interviewees were from two major cities in Senegal, namely Dakar and Louga. The findings show that the law of Waqf in Senegal is new and the high authority of Waqf has considered several methods to implement the new regulatory framework and create al Awqaf in accordance with this law. This research has also found that there are two main types of Waqf as far as the management is concerned: privately managed waqf and publicly managed Awqaf, i.e. by the Higher Authority of Waqf (HAW). The new law has to be implemented first before addressing the management issue. Moreover, based on the interviewees' views, transparency, accountability and reporting can not be measured since the Waqf legislation in the country is still to be fully implemented. However, the High Authority of Waqf has launched several initiatives in order to oversee the transparency, accountability and their reporting of Awqaf in Senegal.