Yamagata district in Japan has donated 10,000 dollars in support of an education endowment fund launched by the Mfantseman District Assembly.

Mr Kofi Wilson, the District Chief Executive told the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Friday that the donation was as a result of a twinning relationship between the two districts to foster cultural exchange. He said education was the key to accelerated socio-economic development and yet many brilliant children, handicapped by poverty were unable to attain the level of education they were capable of.

Mr Wilson said the assembly would establish a strong relationship

between Japanese businessmen and their Ghanaian counterparts to help create jobs in the district.

The assembly was also committed to maintaining a clean environment as a way of attracting tourists and investors. "People may come as tourists but a clean and a well organised environment can attract them to invest." He said as a way of generating employment for the youth, the district would make use of the clay deposit in the area and feed the brick and tile industry to enable the assembly to build affordable houses.He said the district would take advantage of the Ghana Social Relief Programme to give soft loans to fishermen and farmers to improve their businesses and thereby alleviate poverty.