The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana has begun its regular meetings to review the performance of the economy. The meeting which started at Tuesday will also determine whether the Central Bank’s prime rate- which hints whether lending rates, will be changed or not. While the developments over the past quarter may not have been too exciting, the third quarter is expected to see significant inflows. But will this be the last meeting the current chairman and Governor Dr. Paul Acquah will oversee? Here is a business desk report read by Araba Koomson. The term of office of the Governor Dr Paul Acquah ends in September, some two months away, but it is unclear if his contract will be extended. The economist has overseen a significant transformation of the banking sector since assuming this post some eight years ago. A major one is the setting up of the MPC which is meeting to review the economy and prescribe solutions to strengthen it. Government has not stated whether it will extend the term of the governor in which case this week’s MPC meeting could be his last as chairman. There have been speculations since the beginning of the year that former Vice President at the World Bank, Gobind Nankani, or Stanbic bank Boss Alhassan Andani will replace Dr Acquah but other sources say the current governor might be asked to stay on a little longer to stabilize the economy. They argue that considering the importance that President Mills attaches to the economy, he is likely to ask Dr Acquah to stay on till the economy is smooth sailing again. While the stay or departure of the governor will not be entirely out of the picture as the monetary gurus meet, the main focus however will be to dissect the ailing economy and decide on whether to maintain, reduce or increase the prime rate. Some of the significant factors that the MPC will consider during this meeting will be the expected inflows from the World Bank’s just approved 300 million dollars and the one billion dollars to be approved by the International Monetary Fund tomorrow. These significant inflows could brighten the outlook food harvest is also expected to slow inflationary pressures while the expected softening in the price of crude oil should provide some relief for the outlook of the economy. If the MPC will be looking at the economy through these lenses, then increasing the prime rate will be the last option. Story by Araba Koomson