Financing social infrastructure and addressing poverty through wakf endowments: experience from Kenya and Tanzania

Abstract

The East African coast is rich in examples of housing, schools, health centres and other urban facilities that have been financed through endowments known as “wakfs”, created by citizens concerned with community well-being and security of next of kin. From its early religious origins, the practice has developed into a durable economic institution capable of enriching and expanding approaches for mobilizing resources for poverty reduction. Places such as Mombasa, Lamu, Malindi and Zanzibar owe much of their public architecture and social harmony to assets set aside in this way. Partial insulation from the market and strict rules ensure that wakf assets are protected from pillage or undue exposure to risk. This paper outlines the development of wakf methodology and administration in Kenya and Tanzania (specifically Zanzibar) since the early twentieth century. In both countries, elaborate legislation and supervisory mechanisms ensure that endowments are registered and subject to audits to ensure compliance with original objectives. In recent years, more emphasis has been placed on reviewing legislation and finding new ways of adapting to current social needs, changing economic circumstances and national social development policies.