a)

Political party is a group of people with similar ideas about how a state should be governed and with the aim of winning political power.

b)

Ways in which political parties are important in the practice of democracy

1. They train and produce politicians and national leaders
2. They communicate to the government, the opinions and desires of the people
3. They educate the electorate/the people who vote on political issues
4. Opposition parties help the government to be efficient by talking about the wrong things done by the government
5. They provide alternative government
6. They nominate (presidential and parliamentary) candidates and present them to the electorate
7. They promote national unity by bringing together people of different ethnic groups

c)

Problems facing political parties in Ghana

1. Inadequate funds
2. Bribery and corruption during elections
3. Power struggle among members of the same party
4. Favouritism and nepotism
5. Tribalism/ethnicity
6. Low level of political or civic education
7. Violence among opposing political parties
8. Disagreement in policy formulation/implementation

a)

Human rights abuse is the infringement/violation of the rights and freedom of the individual.

b)

Reasons why people suffer human rights abuses

1. Illiteracy/low level of education/ignorance
2. Poverty
3. Lack of political representation of minority groups
4. Fear of intimidation
5. Apathy on the part of the individual
6. Lack of confidence in the judicial system
7. Religious traditional beliefs such as trokosi system, widowhood rites, child betrothal, etc.
8. Stigmatization by the public
9. Discrimination such as gender, race, colour, physical disability, religion, etc.
10. Parental irresponsibility such as child neglect, etc.

c)

Ways by which human rights abuses may be prevented

1. Public education on the rights and freedoms of the individual must be intensified
2. People must be empowered to be economically strong
3. Violators/offenders must be exposed and punished
4. Independent judiciary/court to settle all abuses impartially without fear of favour
5. Human Rights Institutions such as CHRAJ, DOVVSU, FIDA, MOWWAC should be strengthened to prevent human rights abuses
6. Modernization of outmoded cultural and traditional practices such as Dipo, etc.
7. The media should serve as a watch dog to expose all such abuses
8. Religious bodies and civil society organizations should show commitment to educate their followers on moral and ethical issues
9. Making formal education more accessible to the citizenry

a)

b)

Importance of rivers in Ghana

1. Provide water for domestic use e.g. drinking, cooking, washing, etc.
2. For industrial use e.g. cooling of engines, washing and dying, etc.
3. Provide water for irrigation
4. Generation of hydro-electric power (HEP)
5. Transportation
6. Source of food e.g. fish
7. Help in the formation of rain
8. Source of minerals e.g. alluvial gold and diamond
9. For tourist attractions e.g. waterfalls, dams, bridges, etc.
10. Collection and storage of excess water
11. Employment avenues e.g. fishermen
12. Home for aquatic life

c)

Ways by which our water bodies can be protected

1. Creation of forest reserves at the sources and along the river banks
2. Afforestation and re-afforestation
3. Legislation against the indiscriminate cutting of trees
4. Measures to prevent pollution of water bodies e.g. use of chemicals
5. Public education on the need to protect water bodies

a)

Features of the rain forest

1. The forest is evergreen throughout the year with broad leaves
2. The forest is arranged in layers
3. The trees are tall and straight
4. There are many lianas and/or woody climbers which twist around trees
5. The trees have inter-locking canopies
6. Dead leaves, trees and fungi are common in the undergrowth
7. The trees are not found in pure stands
8. The trees have thin barks with buttress roots

b)

Benefits of the rain forest

1. Provides timber exported for foreign exchange
2. Provides timber for construction and furniture
3. Provides raw materials for crafts e.g. cane for basket and wood for carving
4. Provides bark, roots and leaves for preparation of herbal medicine
5. Provides habitat for wild animals e.g. elephants, monkeys, lions, etc.
6. Protects sources of many rivers and keeps them from drying up
7. Provides food e.g. fruits, wild yam
8. Provides the condition for the cultivation of certain crops such as cocoa, cola, rubber, etc.
9. Serves as source of employment for chain-saw operators, farmers, etc.
10. Serves as tourist attractions e.g. Kakum Forest Reserves, the Big Tree near Akim Oda
11. Serves as source of fuel wood and charcoal

a)

Causes of high birth rate in Ghana

1. Teenage pregnancy
2. Early marriage/parenthood
3. High fertility rate
4. Poverty
5. Reluctance to accept family planning and birth control measures
6. Ignorance about effects of high birth rate on individual life
7. Irresponsible parenting
8. Polygamy
9. Prestige about having large families
10. Family labour
11. Inadequate and inefficient family planning system

b)

Ways of reducing high birth rate in Ghana

1. Girl-child education must be intensified
2. Public education against early parenthood/marriage
3. Intensification of family planning and birth control measures
4. Sex education must be intensified
5. Religious and moral education must be encouraged in schools
6. Reproductive health education in schools must be intensified
7. Poverty alleviation/creation of jobs
8. Education on adverse effect of large families
9. Incentives to people with low family size e.g. few children like two
10. Responsible parenting

a)

Human resource refers to the skills and ability of a population to use them to facilitate development.

b)

Factors that can negatively affect human resource in Ghana

1. Incidence of diseases: The incidence of diseases like malaria, cholera, typhoid and HIV/AIDS all affect the ability/capabilities of human beings to work to contribute towards national development
2. Incidence of accidents which lead to deaths resulting in the loss of human resources
3. Insecurity: Armed robbery, ethnic conflicts, ritual murder, etc. can result in the loss of human resources or limit the use of abilities/capabilities to work to contribute towards national development
4. Disasters: Droughts, floods, bush fires lead to the loss of human power
5. Rapid growth of population leads to lack of basic facilities, low nutrition, poverty and incidence of diseases that affect human power
6. Bribery and corruption
7. Favouritism and nepotism
8. Absence of co-operant factors e.g. machinery and tools
9. Low level of education/training to upgrade skills
10. Poor conditions of work or service
11. Traditional beliefs, taboos, norms, etc.
12. Apathy/Negative attitude towards work

c)

Measures that can be taken to improve human resource in Ghana

1. Improvement in health services and sanitation
2. Increased family planning services to reduce the population
3. Reduction of accidents through the proper training of drivers, construction of good roads and all-weather roads, re-training of drivers to acquire better driving skills
4. Increased education programmes on the elimination of crimes and idleness
5. Educational reforms aimed at training technical personnel to man the various sectors of the economy
6. Increased supervision: Workers should be properly supervised to increase productivity
7. Workers should be motivated to work harder by improving their service conditions and wages
8. Career guidance and counselling
9. Providing an enabling environment for development
10. Strict enforcement of laws on corruption, bribery, etc.
11. Avoidance of nepotism and favouritism in employment