Dakar, April 16 (Xinhua) - Waqf High Authority (HAW) chief executive Oulimata Diop stressed on Tuesday in Dakar the need for Zakat appropriation, a form of social security, according to her, by all actors concerned with the promotion and development of the economy to better fight against poverty.

Zakat is "a real social security system designed to lay the foundations for a just economy, benefiting all citizens and promoting the distribution of wealth," she said, on occasion of the pre-forum on the institution of zakat in Senegal.

For Mrs. Oulimata Diop, this pillar of Islam should challenge today all the actors concerned with the promotion of economic development to better fight against poverty.

She recalled that zakat consists of a "compulsory levy on the property of rich Muslims for the benefit of the poorest strata of society".

In the current context in which our country '' has embarked on an inclusive development process based on a solidarity economy which has resulted in the establishment of several social mechanisms '', '' the organization of this pre-forum is to greet, "she said.

It gives the opportunity, according to her, "to revisit a key institution of the Islamic redistribution mechanism that played an important role in the care of the poorest social strata, which has its place in our country of 95 % of Muslims and whose challenges of poverty are to be met ''.

The vice president of the Islamic Fund for Zakat, Ismaëla Ndiaye, for his part, said: "We must base our collection policy on a local endogenous dimension by saying that the Senegalese are Muslims and the others are not more believers [that we] ''. According to him, "they have the means and the capacity to mobilize for mutual help and solidarity to better support those in need". This pre-forum has just given the opportunity to all the organizations to unite their strengths and their experiences to tell to the government, here is a model that you can put into practice to meet the needs of many people of our fellow citizens, "he said. DS / ASG / MD -APS

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