Kumasi, Jan 10, GNA - Professor Francis Teel, a renowned Economist at Oxford University, has given high marks to Ghana for various initiatives that have resulted in the reduction of poverty levels.

Ghana, he said, is one of the successful countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which has made significant progress in the fight to bring down poverty among its people.

Prof Teel, who is the Deputy Director of Oxford Centre for Economic Policy in Africa, was delivering a lecture at the Kumasi Polytechnic. He spoke on the topic 93Poverty in Ghana: Why don't Ghanaians believ= e it has halved"?

Prof Teel cited the 1990/91 and 2005/6 Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS) reports and said the country had made significant gains in poverty reduction over the years.

He, however, said most of the people were not feeling this in their pockets due to the low wages in jobs that employ majority of the people. Prof Teel said even though education plays significant role in securing employment and higher pay, self employment offers higher incomes. He drew attention to the need for effective policies to boost agricultural production and bring dramatic changes in poverty levels. Prof Nicholas Nicodemus Nana Nsowah-Nuamah, Rector of Kumasi Polytechnic, said the lecture is one of a series lined up to expose both students and faculty members to some research findings to empower them in their academic activities.