Retired Captain Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey, one of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Aspirants on Friday, expressed regret about the country's poverty level, describing it as "highly unacceptable". He noted that the country abounds in many natural and mineral resources and said that it was objectionable for the people to live and die in abject poverty. Capt. Effah-Dartey said this at a forum organized by the Ho Polytechnic branch of the Tertiary Institutions Educational Confederation (TESCON) of the NPP in Ho. The forum was on the theme, "Polytechnic Education, an effective tool for dynamic change and growth in the public and private sectors". Capt. Effah-Dartey stated that Ghana was one of the well-endowed countries in the world and attributed its poverty level to misplaced priorities on the part of its leaders. He noted that the country with its land favourable for agriculture, seasons and vast mineral resources, needed a development oriented and principled leader to turn the country into a "paradise". Capt. Effah-Dartey said he had the experience and the expertise to change the socio-economic situation of the country in the first three weeks if given the mandate to manage the country. He mentioned a strong local government system, law and order and human development as his three main priorities in achieving economic emancipation for the country. Capt. Effah-Dartey stated that education is the key to development and urged polytechnic students to remain focused because they were the active force and the engine of growth of the country's economic. Mr John Peter Amewu, District Chief Executive (DCE) of Hohoe, said polytechnic education was relevant to the country's attainment of middle-income status by 2015 and advised polytechnic students to develop a positive attitude to their studies. He urged them not to aim at getting only certificates at the end of their course but should be agents of positive change, which would trigger the private-public sector partnership. Source: GNA