Japan grants US $83,000 to Bangui girl's school

The Japanese government has given 50 million francs CFA (US $83,752) to build new classrooms at a state-run primary school for girls in the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui, state-owned Radio Centrafrique reported on Tuesday. The grant will also be used to rehabilitate two existing classrooms and build a perimeter fence around the school, Ecole Filles Saint Paul de Wango, in the suburb of Wango. Japan has already given 48 million francs ($80.402) to the Roman Catholic Church-run Saint Therese Girl's Primary School (Ecole Fille Sainte Therese), in Banui, for a similar project. Despite the looting in March of property belonging to a Japanese road building firm, Kajima, and the misappropriation in 2000 of 4.8 billion francs ($8 million) of Japanese aid, Tokyo is helping to computerise the CAR's tax and customs services, as well as rehabilitate the government radio and TV stations.