Former Premier to set up health agency
Former Premier Ewart Brown and Government consultant Rolfe Commissiong are planning to set up a new health agency.The pair are linking up with Ven Subramanian, the consultant who coordinated Dr Brown's trip to India last year, to create Bermuda Healthcare Agency, according to a legal notice in the Bermuda Sun published yesterday.Charter Chambers, the law firm acting for the group, did not respond when asked for more details on the project yesterday; Mr Commissiong declined to comment, while Dr Brown and Mr Subramanian could not be reached.Dr Brown, a physician, is the president of Bermuda Healthcare Services, which he set up in 1990 after receiving his Bermuda Medical Association licence two years earlier.Mr Commissiong, a race advisor and close ally of Dr Brown throughout his four-year term, is now a consultant to Premier Paula Cox, although neither Cabinet nor Mr Commissiong has revealed anything about the terms of his contract.Mr Subramanian was closely involved with Dr Brown when he made a $37,000 trip to India in May last year.Dr Brown had promised the link-up would lead to song sequences from the Bollywood film ‘Veera' being shot in Bermuda, reaping benefits for the Island's exposure. Mr Subramanian was said to be coordinator for the filming.That film was reportedly released two months ago with no Bermuda sequences.Mr Subramanian then assisted with a second visit to India for the Commonwealth Games last October in one of Dr Brown's final acts as a leader. During that visit, the two countries signed a tax information exchange agreement.The entrepreneur, who formerly lived in California, is based in Bangalore and owns and manages Sherwood Consultants India.According to that company's website, he has a background in diverse corporate finance and boasts extensive relationships with Indian government and industry.The legal notice in the Sun states Dr Brown, Mr Commissiong and Mr Subramanian are “applying to incorporate a local company with limited liability called Bermuda Healthcare Agency Ltd”.