<p><span style="font-size:13px;">The resurrected Integrity Commission as promised by the government is in its infancy, and already there has been a significant wrench thrown into the works. A release from the Office of the Prime Minister this afternoon confirms that two persons have indicated that they will not be able to accept their appointment which went before the senate last Thursday. Those two persons are businessman Brett Feinstein and banker, Steve Duncan. Both men have withdrawn their names because of the recent passage into law of Bills to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force. Because of their positions on the Integrity Commission, the men would be classified as PEPs, or Politically Exposed Persons. The release from the PM’s office states that as a result of the new bills, “onerous disclosure obligations are visited upon PEPs, their family, friends and associates.” Government has now begun to search for persons who would be prepared to serve despite the inconvenience and international scrutiny which would be visited upon them as a virtue of being classified as PEPs. With Feinstein and Duncan gone, the remaining members of the Commission are Chair Marilyn Williams, Armead Gabourel and Wilmot Simmons for the government, and Kevin Arthurs and Phillip Zuniga for the Opposition. Both Simmons and Gabourel serve on multiple Boards as representatives of the Government. Gabourel, for example, allegedly serves on the Belize District Liquor Licensing Board, the K.H.M.H. Board and the Elections and Boundaries Board. </span></p>
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