Religious site development and preservation in Senegal

In September 2026, initiatives were announced to support the development and preservation of religious sites and infrastructure in Senegal.

At a national level, the Haute Autorité du Waqf (HAW) and the Programme National d’Aménagement et de Modernisation des Villes Religieuses (PNAMVR) entered a three-year strategic partnership. Signed in Dakar on September 17, 2026, by PNAMVR National Coordinator Amdy Moustapha Mbacké and HAW Director General Dr. Ahmed Lamine Athie, the agreement seeks to use waqf—Islamic pious donations—as a sustainable financing mechanism to modernize religious cities such as Touba and Tivaouane. The partnership focuses on five pillars: achieving financial autonomy, establishing shared governance, creating social impact through community investment hubs, preserving religious heritage, and integrating the waqf model into public urban development policy. A Joint Technical Committee will be established to oversee project selection and monitoring.

Following this, Prime Minister Ahmadou Alhaminou Lô pledged state support for the HAW to facilitate a new strategic plan and the launch of a public Waqf fund. Operating under the Prime Minister’s office, this fund is intended as a social solidarity mechanism to provide sustainable financing for social projects targeting vulnerable populations. The model aims to reduce poverty and inequality by preserving capital and using generated income for long-term services, though specific details on the fund’s launch and total amount remain undisclosed.

Locally, the municipality of Dakar-Plateau committed 100 million CFA francs toward the reconstruction of the Zawiya Seydi El Hadji Malick Sy. Mayor Alioune Ndoye described the project as an effort to preserve a spiritual sanctuary and center of knowledge rooted in the commune’s history.