Question 1
Identify five reasons for which citizens lose trust in government.
Observation
This question was popular among the candidates. The candidates who attempted it performed very well in section and scored high marks. However, some candidates deprived themselves of good marks by merely listing the points without further explanation. Candidates were expected to provide the following answers to the question.
- Widespread corruption in government
- High level of unemployment
- High cost of living/high rate of inflation
- State of insecurity e.g. armed robberies, kidnappings, terrorist attacks, banditry
- Widespread poverty
- Inability to provide social services/social amenities e.g. education, roads, health
- Extravagance/opulence on the part of government officials
- Arrogance of power by public officers
- Disregard for constitutionalism/Rule of Law
- Victimization of political opponents
- Undue interference in the work of the judiciary/judicial system
- Arbitrary use of power by government officials
- Human rights abuses
- Press censorship
- Poor service delivery by state institutions
- Electoral manipulation/rigging of elections/interference in the electoral process
- Tribalism, nepotism and favoritism in the public service
- Poor remuneration of workers: which leads to strikes
- Disregard for ethics and morality in governance
- Failure to protect state resources
- Poor accountability and transparency in public service
- Low productivity/poor performance of the economy
- Lack of checks and balances by the various organs
- Unfulfilled promises by the government.