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Home / Social Studies / Bece Past Questions & Answers – 2008 (SOCIAL STUDIES)

Bece Past Questions & Answers – 2008 (SOCIAL STUDIES)

APRIL 2008

SOCIAL STUDIES 2

ESSAY
1 hour

Answer three questions only, choosing one question from each section.
Credit will be given for clarity of expression and orderly presentation of material
All questions carry equal marks

PART I

GOVERNMENT, POLITICS AND STABILITY

Answer one question only from this part

1. (a) (b) Give four reasons why the transatlantic slave trade continued for a long time. State four negative effects of the slave trade on West Africa

2. (a) (b)

Mention four sources of revenue to the District Assemblies in Ghana

Outline four contributions of the District Assemblies to the development of your area

PART II

OUR ENVIRONMENT

Answer one question only from this part

3. (a) Explain four ways in which tourism contributes to the economy of Ghana.

4.
(b)

(a)
State four ways in which tourism can be promoted in Ghana.

Mention any four causes of urbanization

(b) State four effects of urbanization

PART III

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Answer one question only from this part

5. (a) (b) What is productivity

In which four ways can productivity be increased in Ghana?

6. (a) (b)

What is private enterprise?

Outline any four roles the Government of Ghana could play to promote private enterprise. CLICK TO VIEW ANSWERS TO PART 2

APRIL 2008

SOCIAL STUDIES 2
SOLUTIONS

ESSAY

PART I

GOVERNMENT, POLITICS AND STABILITY

7. (a) Reasons why the transatlantic slave trade continued for a long time.
(i) The labour provided by the slaves was very valuable, and yet, very cheap
(ii) The African chiefs were not ready to lose the lots of money they were making from the slave trade.
(iii) The Africans were not united and hence could not come together to oppose the slave trade. (iv) The Red Indians who were also working on the plantations and in the mines were not
enough to do all the work.
(v) The slave trade was very lucrative for the Europeans and the African middlemen. (vi) There was always a high demand for the slaves in the South American mines
(vii) The African slaves, and Africans in general, did not know their rights.
(viii) The desire of some chiefs and their kingdoms to conquer other kingdoms made them continue the trade, so that they could obtain guns and gunpowder for their plans.
[any four]

(b) Negative effects of the slave trade on West Africa
(i) It caused the dispersion of Africans to various parts of the world.
(ii) Africans lost the respect of the Europeans, when they realised that Africans did not respect themselves (as they fought to capture slaves).
(iii) It brought about insecurity, chaos and anarchy in the communities as hundreds of youth were captured as slaves.
(iv) It led to several incidence of broken homes as families lost their children to slave raiders
(v) It made Africans lose confidence in themselves
(vi) It brought about the introduction of cruel treatment generally
(vii) Africa lost a huge population – of over 200 million
(viii) There was a huge loss of active manpower (human resource), as the traders took away the stronger and more able persons.
[any four]

8. (a) Sources of revenue to the District Assemblies in Ghana
(i) Property rates
(ii) Districts assembly common fund
(iii) Licences fees (iv) Loans / grants (v) Royalties
(vi) Tolls (charges) for commercial activities
(vii) Court fines
(viii) Government grants
(ix) Income generation ventures / campaigns
(x) Donations from NGOs
[any four]

(b) Contributions of the District Assemblies to the development of your area
(i) Provision of civic education in the communities
(ii) Planning and development of the district
(iii) Construction and maintenance of certain social amenities such as market, drains, schools, feeder roads, etc
(iv) Maintenance of law and order, by provision of law courts and the making and enforcement of by-laws to maintain peace and stability.
(v) Collection of refuse and general maintenance of sanitation in the communities
(vi) Human Resource development – Training staff of the assembly
(vii) Assisting with the education of needy students, by offering scholarships and sponsorships.
[any four]

PART II

OUR ENVIRONMENT

9. (a) Ways in which tourism contributes to the economy of Ghana. (i) Foreign exchange earner for Ghana
– The nation earns a lot of foreign exchange from the tourism industry through payment of
fees, fares, duties, etc, in foreign currencies by tourists who come into the country.

(ii) Source of revenue to the government of Ghana.
– Ghana earns a great deal of revenue from tourism through payment of income tax, import duties, Value Added Tax (VAT), royalties, levies, etc. by Hotels, Restaurants, Tourist site operators, Airlines, etc.

(iii) Tourist sites promotes the development of communities

The location of tourist sites sometimes causes the development of certain social amenities close to it eg, the construction of roads to the site, the drawing of electricity / water to the community, etc. These are done to make tourists feel more comfortable and hence attract more tourists.

(iv) Source of employment
– Tourism provides employment directly and indirectly to various kinds of people.
Examples of such people are tour guides, security men, hotel workers, airport staff, airline workers, etc

(v) Promotes environmental preservation
– When certain natural resources such as forest reserves, game parks, waterfalls, lakes, etc, are uses as tourist attraction sites, they are preserved / maintained. This promotes a healthy and preserved natural environment.

(vi) Helps to attract foreign investors into the country
– When tourists come into the country, they may identify sectors of the economy which they might consider investing in.

(vii) Gives a boost to the local artefacts industry
– Tourists who come into the country usually buy locally made artefacts as souvenirs.
The high patronage of the artefacts provide income to the producers as well as advertise Ghana in their home countries
[any four]

(b) Ways in which tourism can be promoted in Ghana.
(i) Good and proper maintenance of our tourist sites.
(ii) Provision of excellent social amenities in the communities in which the tourist sites are located
(iii) Effective advertisement / publicity of tourist destinations in Ghana in foreign / international media
(iv) Improving customer relations at tourists user places, such as airports, hotels, restaurants, transport services, tour sites, etc
(v) Making sure there is adequate security at tourists user places
(vi) Empowering the Ghana Tourist Board to do more in promoting tourism
(vii) Effective training of the human resource in the tourism industry
[any four]

10. (a) Causes of urbanization
(i) Better infrastructure /social amenities –
(ii) More employment or job opportunities
(iii) Prestige – desire to raise one‟s social status
(iv) Better educational opportunities

(v) Greater commercial activity
(vi) Industrialization
(vii) High rate of population growth [any four]

(b) Effects of urbanization

(i) Increase in streetism
(ii) Creation of slums
(iii) Increased environmental degradation
(iv) Increased cost of living
(v) Reduced access to social amenities
(vi) Increase in criminal activities (vii) Increased unemployment rate (viii) Reduced economic productivity
(ix) Traffic jams (both human and vehicular)
[any four]

PART III

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

11. (a) Productivity
The ratio of production output to production input.
Or

Or
The ratio of production output to what is required to produce it (inputs).
Or
The goods or services produced within a given time in relation to available materials and labour.

(b) Ways by which productivity can be increased in Ghana

(i) Employing workers with the right training, knowledge, skills and attitudes. (ii) Ensuring the correct use of efficient working tools
(iii) Applying current / modern methods of production
(iv) Providing regular in-service training and refresher courses for workers.

(v) Motivating workers with various incentives, such as, awards/rewards, scholarships for further studies
(vi) Paying fair wages and salaries to workers
(vii) Ensuring effective and regular supervision, monitoring, assessment and evaluation. (viii) Making sure that the working environment is comfortable and conducive for work (ix) Financial institutions should be more willing to offer more credit facilities for
establishment and expansion of businesses
(x) Codes of ethics at workplaces must be studied and applied regularly
(xi) Ensuring effective management and administration
(xii) Effective planning and implementation
[any four]

12. (a) Private enterprise

(b) An enterprise that is set up and managed by a private individual or group

Roles the Government of Ghana could play to promote private enterprise.
(i) Granting tax holidays to new businesses.
(ii) Organizing training seminars/ workshops for the managements and staff of private enterprises
(iii) Granting subsidies on raw materials / services used by the private enterprises
(iv) Discouraging the importation of similar goods which are produced by private enterprises (v) Sponsoring local private enterprises to participate in trade fairs – both home and abroad (vi) Helping with the advertising of their products / services.
(vii) Facilitating acquisition of credit facilities from financial institutions by guaranteeing for them
(viii) Granting approval / endorsements of products that meet the required quality standards. (ix) Empowering governmental institutions that assist the private sector., such as NBSSI and
GIPC
[any four]

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