2000+ WASSCE Government Past Questions and Answers (PDF)

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1 2009 Government Questions (I)

2 2009 Government Questions (II)

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2009 Government Questions (I)

Government as an institution of the state refers to the a. legislative, executive and judicial structures of government b. relationship between the state and government c. activities of the judiciary and the legislature d. functioning of the para-military and the police in a state

The primary function of government is the a. provision of social amenities b. maintenance of law and order c development of resources of the country d. establishment of cordial foreign relationship
The sovereign power in a democratic state lies with the a. electorate b. community c. judiciary d. executive

A group of people with a common ancestry and culture constitutes a a.commonwealth b. community c. nation d. society
Which of the following systems of government controls all aspects of life of a people? a. Oligarchy b. Aristocracy c. Totalitarianism d. Autocracy
Which of the following is a merit of a Socialist State? It a. increases the interplay of price mechanism b. encourages rapport between the employers and the employees c. provides for continuous employment d. eliminates monopolistic control of economic resources by the rich

One of the ways of evaluating the level of democracy a country enjoys is through its a. press censorship b. press freedom c. per capita income d. competent judges
Political education most importantly helps citizens to a. understand and appreciate government policies b. support the ruling government c. pay taxes regularly d. pay regular visits to parliament
Immunity given to diplomats violates the concept of a. rule of law b. separation of powers c. checks and balances d. legal sovereignty

The prosecution of a cabinet minister for committing a traffic offence is an a. parliamentary privilege b. checks and balances c. rule of law d. judicial independence
Delegated Legislation is essential because it helps to deal with a. influx of illegal immigrants b. unexpected national crises c. problems facing legislators d. constitutional crisis
Delegated Legislation undermines the a. supremacy of parliament b. sovereignty of the state c. presidential executive power d. political stability of the state

Decision making at the grassroots is achieved through the policy of a. centralization b. revolution c. evolution d. decentralization
The guiding principles upon which a state is administered are found in a

a. charter b. manifesto c. treaty d. constitution

A constitution is said to be rigid when a. it is adopted by many countries b. only judges can interpret it c. it has special procedure for its amendment d. it is unsuitable for a homogeneous society
Which of the following is a feature of a constitution? a. recognition of coup d’etat b. procedure for secession in the state c. procedure for election rigging d. type of government to be operated
One of the features of a presidential system of government is that the a. head of government is a ceremonial figure b. head of state is also the head of government c. parliament is supreme over other arms of government d. legislature cannot remove the president

In the parliamentary system of government, the Prime Minster and the Cabinet can be removed from office through a. impeachment b. judicial review c. commission of inquiry d. vote of no confidence
Which of the following is an advantage of a bi-cephalous executive? a. national and partisan interests are separated b. there is fixed tenure of office c. cabinet ministers enjoy higher remuneration d. the office of the president is permanent
In the traditional notion of sovereignty, a monarch holds power on the basis of a. hereditary and divine right b. wining a popular lection c. a promulgated written constitution d. establishing a council of state

Which of the following are on the exclusive list of a Federal constitution?

a. Defence, Foreign Affairs and Currency b. Education, Agriculture and Industry c. Transportation, Communication and Insurance d. Mining, Health and Sports

A confederation is a loose association of states because a. right of secession is allowed b. its constitution is unwritten c. component units are weak d. dual citizenship prevails

Which of the following guarantees the independence of the judiciary? a. immunity of judges b. judicial review c. the rule of law d. judicial precedent
When parliament is prorogued, legislators go on a. recess b. retirement c. recreation d. retrenchment
Drafting a bill into a legal language is done by the a. Attorney-General’s Department b. Bar Association c. Registrar-General’s Department d. Clerk of Parliament

Which of the following security agencies helps the law courts to prosecute criminals? The a. Police b. Navy c. Air Force d. Military Intelligence
The dispensation of justice is the function of the a. judiciary b. executive c. legislature d. politics
Which of the following institutions is not involved in the administration of justice? a. the police b. ombudsman c. law courts d. Air force

Which of the following has the ultimate power to declare the actions of the executive unconstitutional? The a. Court of Appeal b. Supreme Court c. High Court d. Circuit Court
The right that citizens of a country enjoy are determined by a. nature b. law c. courts d. voting
The most paramount of all rights is the right to a. life b. property c. vote d. open trail

A multi-party system tends to promote a. rural development b. sectionalism and factionalism c. rapid economic development d. devolution and deconcentration
An electoral register is periodically revised in order to a. prevent voting malpractices b. ensures proxy voting c. enfranchise the under-aged d. strengthen the electoral commission
Voting by proxy implies casting a ballot a. secretly at a polling station b. on behalf of a registered voter c. before the day of the election d. on behalf of a minor

The aggregate views of the people on national issues are measured by a. public debates b. public opinion c. pressure groups d. the mass media
A major problem of local governments in West Arica is a. unskilled labour b. highly unqualified leaders c. periodic elections d. inadequate finance
All the following are sources of local government revenue except a. government grants b. custom duties c. court fines d. rates

The Principle of neutrality of the civil service implies that civil servants should a. be appointed on political basis b. serve any government loyally c.be appointed on permanent basis d. not work in their area of origin
The Secretary of State for the Colonies under the British colonial administration was resident in a. London b. Accra c. Lagos d. Freetown
The main functions of the Executive Council in the British Crown Colony System were a. law making and revenue collection b. installation of chiefs and collection

c. policy making and implementation d. declaration of war and peace making

The Loi Cadre of 1956 made provisions for all the following except a. granting of independence b. internal autonomy c. the office of a high commissioner d. universal adult suffrage
The French policy of administration which viewed the colonies as extensions of France is referred to as a. association b. indirect rule c. assimilation d. communes

The development of nationalist activities was more rapid in British than in French West Africa because the a. British were no longer interested in governing their territories b. British formed political parties in their territories c. French administrative policies did not allow for political agitation d. French West Africans were not interested in having self government
A foremost Pan-African leader was a. Aminu Kano b.Dawda Jawara c. Kwame Nkrumah d. William Tubman
One of the first steps taken by the military when they take over power is to a. suspend the constitution b. ban all inter-city movements c. increases workers’ salaries d. jail all the judges

Which of the following factors influenced the foreign policies of West African countries? a. even Development b. Atomic Development c. Exchange of personnel d. historical experience
One of the major achievements of the O.A.U. was a. ending racism in South Saharan Africa b. ending apartheid policy in South Africa c. having cordial trade relations with Russia d. discouraging the acquisition of nuclear power
The head of the commonwealth of Nations is the a. Prime minister of Britain b. Monarch of Britain c. President of South Africa d. Prime Minster of Canada

The U.N.O. was founded for the purposes of a. imposing sanctions on countries b. fighting colonialism c. promoting global peace and security d. achieving independence for African countries
The Non permanent members of the Security Council of the U.N.O. are elected for a term of a. two years b. four years c. five years d. ten years.

2009 Government Questions (II)

Government as a discipline can be defined as the study of a. competition among political parties for electoral office b. income and expenditure of a state c. political developments and organization of a country d. individuals in the nation

Authority refers to the a. ability to overthrow a government b. right to give orders c. election of local authority d. desire for political power
The concept of sovereignty was propounded by a. Abraham Lincoln b.Jean Bodin c. John Locke d. Chalres Montequieu
Political sovereignty refers to a. political parties b. public opinion c. electorate d. press

Democracy can also be referred to as a. feudal government b. representative government c. unitary government d. federal government
The ability of the individual is the fundamental aim of a. Socialism b. Democracy c. Totalitarianism d. Communism
Supremacy of the law is a characteristic of a. Nazism b. feudalism c. liberal democracy d. fascism

The political arrangement whereby there is absolute state control of power is

a. totalitarianism b. republicanism c. capitalism d. theocracy

Ruling a country in accordance with the basic laws of a the land is referred to as a. constitutionalism b. transparency c. accountability d. democracy

The principle of checks and balances among the three organs of government leads to a. conflicts b. dictatorship c. stability d. centralization
Customs, traditions and conventions constitute a major component of a. rigid constitution b. flexible constitution c. confederal constitution d. federal constitution
Rigidity and flexibility are all ways of classifying constitutions based on a. documentary process b. power sharing process c. amendment producers d. revenue allocation procedure

Constitutions with entrenched provisions are a. flexible b. rigid c. federal d. unitary
A country with homogeneous culture is likely to adopt a. bi-cameralism

b. unitary constitution c. confederal constitution d. decentralization

In a monarchical form of government, the head of state is known as a. governor-general b. president c. monarch d. prime minister
In a federal system of government, the ultimate interpretation of constitutional issues rests with the a. supreme court b. national assembly c. house of representatives d. ombudsman
Which of the following is a function of a ceremonial president? a. presiding over cabinet meetings b. initiating bills c. reshuffling of cabinet d. giving assent to bills

The exercise of the functions of head of state and government by a single person is known as a. bi-cephalous executive b. mono-cephalous executive c. confederal system d. cabinet system
Impeachment as an instrument of check on the executive is useful mainly in a a. parliamentary system b. unitary system c. federal system d. presidential system
The system of government where members of the executive are drawn from the legislature is a. presidential system b. parliamentary system c. confedral system d. federal system

Parliamentary system of government lays emphasis on a. collective responsibility b. democratic centralism c. concentration of power d. delegation of power
Which of the following is not a function of a Speaker of Parliament? a. presiding over parliamentary meetings b. supervising the processes of legislation c. ensuring formation of quorum d. giving assent to bills passed by parliamentarians
When an executive president gives assent to a bill, he performs a. an executive function b. a legislative function c. a judiciary function d. a ceremonial function

The revenue and expenditure of the executive are controlled by a. parliament b . the judiciary c. the special fraud office d. the police
Which of the following unitary states has a bi-cameral legislature? a. Ghana b. Britain c. the Gambia d. Italy
The head of the judiciary is the a. Minister of Justice b. Chief Justice c. Attorney – General d. Inspector General

The salaries and allowances of judges are charged to the a. consolidated fund b. judicial service account c. central bank account d. constitutional account
The final interpretation of all constitutional matters lies with the a. appeal court b. supreme court c. high court d. legislature
An independent judiciary is necessary to a. punish criminals b. interpret the constitution c. execute the law d. social obligation

The upholding and defence of the constitution of a state is a a. political right b. constitutional right c. political obligation d. social obligation
The primary duty of the armed forces in a state is to a. overthrow corrupt civilian government b. engage in peace –keeping operations c. maintain peace and order in the state d. defend the country from external attacks
The process by which citizens are made to be aware of their political rights and obligations is a. indoctrination b. citizenship c. political propaganda d. political education

One advantage of one-party system is that it a. makes for wider choice of candidates b. enfranchises all citizens c. encourages national development d. brings about division among party leaders
Universal adult suffrage is the a. representation in the National Assembly b. participation of women in the electoral process c. right to vote by qualified citizens d. juvenile participation in elections
All the following are methods of operations of pressure groups except a. strike b. co-operation c. demonstrations d. lobbying

The permanent nature of the Civil Service ensure the a. continuity in the administration of the state b. secrecy of classified documents c. impartiality of civil servants d. smooth implementation of policies
Which of the following is likely to promote efficiency in the civil service?

a. frequent changes in policies b. frequent changes in government c. entrance through political patronage d. promotion based on ability

The main source of local government revenue is a. rates b. royalties c. government grants d. ordinances
Rules and regulations made by local authorities are referred to as a. edicts b. bye-laws c. decrees d. ordinances
Indirect rule succeeded in some territories in the British West Africa because of the a. existing centralized system of local administration b. military invasion by the British c. love the people had for British administration d. high level of literacy in Western education.

The executive council could not control the power of the colonial government because it was a. mainly an advisory body b. controlled by the secretary of state for the colonies c. accountable to the legislative council d. exclusively dominated by unofficial members
The colonial government in British West Africa had the power to a. appoint and remove chiefs b. perform traditional marriage rites c. control birth rate d. organize traditional festivals
The ultimate goal of the nationalists in West Africa after the second world war was to a. recover the resources exploited by the colonialists b. improve the status of the traditional rulers c. make educated Africans take part in governance d. get political independence for their countries

Under a military rule, laws come into force when they are duly a. scaled b. promulgated c. passed by the ministers d. signed by the chief justice
Which of the following measures can make the military stay out of politics? a. political education and good governance b. seizing the military equipment of soldiers c. appointing soldiers as ministers of state d. paying huge salaries and allowances to soldiers
Détente in international relations means a. detention of war prisoners b. posting of ambassadors c. military alliance between nations d. peace agreement between nations

Which of the following was not a founding father of the Organization of African Unity (OAU)? a. Kwame Nkrumah b. Nelson Mandela c. Haille Sellasie d. Abdul Nasser
The main aim of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was to promote a. continental harmony and solidarity b. regional political integration c. harmonization of trade and industry d. territorial integrity and independence
The United Nations Organization (UNO) agency responsible for the control of epidemic and diseases is the a. World Health Organization (WHO) b. International Labour Organization (ILO) c. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) d. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)

Which of the following organs of the United Nations Organization (UNO) exercises veto power? The a. international court of justice b. trusteeship council c. security council d. secretariat