David Muirhead named as Integrity's new chairman

Ambassador David Muirhead has been appointed the new chairman of the Integrity Commission.

The appointment takes effect today.

The Integrity Commission has been without a chairman since November of last year when then chairman, Justice Randolph Langrin, died.

Secretary/manager of the com-mission, A.H. Chong, listed the other members as Justice David Pitter; former tax tsar Clive Nicholas; noted chartered accountant Leighton McKnight; and ex-officio member Pamela Munroe Ellis in her capacity as auditor general.

Replacements

Langrin had replaced Kenneth Lewis, who resigned earlier in the year after tax authorities attempted to seize the assets of two New Kingston businesses of which he was a director.

McKnight replaced Langrin, a long-standing member, when he was elevated to chairman.

The enforcement team from the Tax Administration Services Depart-ment attempted to seize the assets in September 2009 after the institu-tions' failure to file taxes of some $100 million, inclusive of penalties.

Lewis said then that he was tendering his resignation to Sir Patrick Allen in order to not compromise the Integrity Com-mission in any way.

The Parliament (Integrity of Members) Act requires all parliamentarians to submit a statutory declaration to the commission by December 31 of each year.

As stipulated by the act, the commission consists of the auditor general and four other persons from the following categories: members of the Governor General's Privy Council; president or past president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica; retired judges of appeal or retired judges of the Supreme Court; and persons who have held the post of commissioner of income tax, financial secretary or auditor general.