PSC finally makes donation to Mahdia fire victims

On Friday, Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Gerald Gouveia Jr, together with Executive Director Nayteram Ramnarine, met with the families affected by the 2023 tragic Mahdia fire and hand over financial donations and support packages contributed by corporate members to the affected families.

Gouveia extended condolences on behalf of the PSC and its membership, reaffirming the private sector’s support for those impacted the tragedy.

As part of that pledge, the Chairman and Executive Director also spent the day engaging with community members and visiting the site of the fire.

In 2025, the PSC was placed in the spotlight regarding funds that were raised by the commission to bring relief to the Mahdia dorm fire victims and families, immediate past chairman of the PSC Komal Singh had set the record straight about the usage of the funds raised by the organisation.

Two years after the Mahdia Secondary School dormitory fire claimed the lives of 20 children, it was revealed that nearly $30 million in donations collected by the PSC were not disbursed to the families.

The 2024 report of the PSC revealed that under the Chairmanship of the immediate past Chairman Komal Singh, the organisation accumulated $29,941,375 under the designation “Contributions for Mahdia Fire Relief.”

The Mahdia dormitory fire in Guyana was one of the most tragic incidents in Guyana’s history that occurred on May 21, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 20 individuals, including 19 students and a 5-year-old boy.

The deceased students were: Tracil Thomas, Lisa Roberts, Delicia Edwards, Lorita Williams, Natalie Bellarmine, Arriana Edwards, Cleoma Simon, Subrina John, Martha Dandrade, Loreen Evans, Belnisa Evans, Mary Dandrade, Omerfia Edwin, Nickleen Robinson, Sherina Daniels, Eulander Carter, Andrea Roberts, and Rita Jeffrey. Additionally, five-year-old Adanye Jerome—the son of the dorm parents who were attempting to rescue other children at the time—also tragically lost his life.