President Dr Irfaan Ali is urging Guyanese to set aside at least 30 minutes each day for physical activity, as concerns continue to be raised about cardiovascular disease and other non-communicable diseases affecting the population.
Ali made the call on Friday morning in a video posted to his social media page, encouraging citizens to incorporate exercise and other forms of physical activity into their daily routines.

“This morning [Friday], I want to encourage every Guyanese to get ready, wake up and make 30 minutes for your body. Take 30 minutes of your time for your body and for you,” the President said.
He said the body is exposed to different levels of stress each day and should be prepared for the demands of daily life.
According to Ali, physical activity can help provide the energy needed to start the day and contribute to maintaining a healthier and stronger body.
“30 minutes to keep you healthy, to keep you stronger. 30 minutes to ensure that you give your body and yourself the chance of beating primary health care challenges and issues,” he said.
Ali acknowledged that he too, has neglected dedicating 30 minutes each day to his physical health.
“I’m telling you this because I know I’ve neglected giving the body that 30 minutes every single day,” he said.
He encouraged Guyanese to use whatever space is available to become active, whether in their yards or communities.
“Get up, get out, in the yard, in the community, do something, get active. For 30 minutes, get active,” Ali said.
The President’s call comes amid growing attention to non-communicable diseases and cardiovascular health in Guyana.
In May, Head of Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), Dr Mahendra Carpen, raised concern over what he described as an apparent increase in sudden deaths among young adults in Guyana. Carpen said cardiovascular disease was a leading cause and noted that individuals in their 20s to 40s had been dying unexpectedly, including during sleep or while engaged in routine activities.
Carpen identified several factors associated with serious heart disease, including blockages in the heart, inflammation or infection of the heart muscle, severe uncontrolled hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and smoking. He also urged people experiencing symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations or light-headedness to seek medical evaluation and encouraged regular health checks.

Greater attention
The President has previously called for greater attention to healthier lifestyles and prevention of non-communicable diseases.
In February, Ali announced plans for Government to work with religious communities on public health and primary healthcare initiatives. He said the programme would involve health checks, counselling and efforts to change lifestyles and living habits, with initiatives involving temples, mosques and churches.
Ali had also called in 2023 for a holistic approach to nutrition, arguing that healthier eating habits and health education should be incorporated into the education system. At the time, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony highlighted unhealthy diets, consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, smoking, alcohol consumption and physical inactivity as factors contributing to non-communicable diseases.
On Friday, Ali again urged Guyanese to make physical activity part of their daily routine.
“Give your body the energy, give your body the fuel, give your body the chance to be victorious. Give your body the chance to be optimal. Let us do this together, Guyana,” he said.

… BG then, OIL now

As he’d written, your Eyewitness was a great fan of Sparrow – a social commentator par excellence, as he showed in the BG War!! He wondered what Birdie would’ve thought of the country now – and this is what he came up with:
Verse 1: “When I knew British Guiana, / Was sugar, rice and plenty drama; / Jagan, Burnham, union meeting, / Everybody quarrelling, nobody eating. / I sang of trouble, smoke and flame, / Neighbours frightened by a neighbour name. / Now I come back and hear the shout: / “Oil below!” – but what coming out?
Chorus: “Guyana, look how you grow! / Everybody courting you now, you know. / Yesterday they couldn’t find you on the map, / Today every big man sitting in your lap! / Build the bridge and light the town, / But let some sweetness trickle down. / Oil can turn the whole world round / Keep both feet on Guyana ground!”
Verse 2: “We hauled down Britain flag one day, / And told the Governor, ‘Go your way!’ / Then some who preached emancipation developed quite a taste for domination. / A ballot box should settle doubt, / Not need a struggle to count it out. / Freedom is more than flag and song. / The little man must tell you when you wrong!”
Chorus
Verse 3 – “I remember suitcase by the door: “‘Merica calling – I can’t take more!’” / Nurse and teacher, fitter, clerk, / Gone abroad to look for work. / Now cousin landing, full of grin: / “Which investment I could get in?” / Yesterday, “This country done!” Today, “I always was a loyal son!”
Chorus
Verse 4 – “New roads stretching, buildings high, / Hotel windows touching sky. / Ali moving from place to place / Even the cameraman can’t keep ‘e pace! / But a granny standing by the stall / Say, “Son, I glad to see it all; / Just make the pension and prices meet. / I can’t put a roundabout in me pot to eat!”
Chorus
Verse 5 – “Once cane was king across the land, / And sugar money ruled the hand. / Now offshore platforms take the stage, / And every fellow is an oil sage. / He can’t calculate change for bread, / But knows what Exxon should get instead! / Hear me, before the argument spoils: / Teach the children more than oil.
Chorus
Verse 6 – “Plant the rice and tend the ground, / Keep the workshop hammer sound. / Train the nurse, respect the teacher, / Don’t make every bright child a speechmaker. / When the oil cheque cease to flow, / What we built is what will show. / A nation’s wealth must still endure. / When the sea can’t send a barrel more!”
Chorus
Final verse – “And this old race talk – give it rest! / No oil well asking who ancestor best. / At rum shop, wedding, cricket ground, / Look how easy friendship found. / Then election come, some fellow say, “Put down your friend – come this way!”/ Tell him, “Boss, we know that game: you get the power; we get the blame!”
Chorus

…our air hub ambition
A decade ago, when the Chinks started rebuilding CJIA, we’d hoped to become a regional air hub – but it never took off. This time, Pressie’s renewed invitation with Terminal Two being built is more persuasive than architectural drawings – an economy attracting international attention and travellers!!
Passenger movements in 2025 are up 13.6 per cent over 2024 – since oil not only brings business travellers, visiting specialists, and commercial, but we don’t have to explain where Guyana is!! As Pressie proposed, we should seek an anchor airline with a credible connecting network while tying incentives to sustained services and measurable results!!
Your Eyewitness thinks our strongest opportunity lies in a focused network linking the Guianas, selected northern Brazilian cities, and the Caribbean – supported by our own expanding international traffic!!
Which saves passengers time or money – or both!!

…man’s inhumanity
Your Eyewitness is still reeling from the shock of hearing about that little six-year-old murdered by that SEVENTY-SIX old man – just because he had a money beef with the kid’s parents.
And the kid was running to hug the fellow!!

President Dr Irfaan Ali’s call for Guyanese to dedicate at least 30 minutes each day to physical activity is a simple message with important implications for the nation’s public health. At a time when non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes, continue to place significant demands on individuals, families, and the healthcare system, greater emphasis on prevention is both timely and necessary.
The value of the President’s message lies partly in its simplicity as physical activity does not necessarily require expensive equipment, a gym membership or specialised facilities. Walking, jogging, cycling, exercising in the yard, or participating in recreational activities within communities can provide opportunities for people to become more active.
The 30-minute appeal should be viewed as an accessible starting point for healthier living rather than an unrealistic demand on citizens already managing busy schedules.
The urgency surrounding healthier lifestyles is underscored by concerns raised by medical professionals. Head of Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, Dr Mahendra Carpen, has highlighted cardiovascular disease as an increasing concern, particularly among younger adults. He has advocated earlier screening for conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol, noting that risk factors can often be identified and managed before serious cardiovascular disease develops.
The warning is significant because NCD prevention cannot rest exclusively on hospitals and medical professionals. Healthcare systems must provide screening, diagnosis, treatment, and specialised care, but individual lifestyle choices also have an important role in reducing preventable risk factors.
The 2026 Budget provides for expanded preventive medicine programmes targeting diabetes, hypertension, and cancer, while the HEARTS protocol for cardiovascular care is being expanded to more than 400 facilities. Significant resources are also being directed towards new hospitals, medical equipment, and improved specialised healthcare services.
Such investments demonstrate that prevention and treatment must advance together. A modern healthcare system must be capable of responding to serious illness while simultaneously reducing the number of people who reach advanced stages of preventable disease.
The President’s message also fits within a wider public-health strategy that has increasingly placed healthier lifestyles at the centre of national discussion. Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony recently encouraged Guyanese to exercise regularly, make healthier dietary choices, avoid smoking and moderate alcohol consumption. He also pointed to the importance of physical activity in delaying or preventing some chronic illnesses.
That approach deserves sustained national attention.
There is also value in the President acknowledging that maintaining healthy habits can be difficult. The admission that 30 minutes of daily physical activity has not always been achieved provides a practical dimension to the message. The objective is not perfection but consistency.
A healthier Guyana requires a culture in which physical activity becomes part of everyday life rather than something reserved for organised fitness programmes. Schools, workplaces, religious organisations, community groups, and families can all contribute to that culture. Communities can encourage walking groups, recreational activities and other forms of safe physical exercise, while workplaces can promote opportunities for movement during the working day.
Government also has a responsibility to ensure that communities have environments that support active living. Safe roads, walkways, recreational spaces, playing fields, and community facilities can make physical activity more practical and attractive.
Regular health checks, balanced nutrition, reduced consumption of excessive sugar and unhealthy foods, avoidance of tobacco, and responsible alcohol consumption remain important components of a comprehensive approach to NCD prevention.
The expansion of Guyana’s healthcare infrastructure and specialised services is an important part of the national response. Recent investments in cardiac care, including specialised paediatric cardiac services, demonstrate the importance being placed on improving access to treatment. At the same time, preventing illness before specialised intervention becomes necessary represents an equally important objective.
Thirty minutes may appear insignificant against the scale of Guyana’s health challenges. Yet national health improvements are often built from individual habits repeated consistently across thousands of households.
President Ali’s appeal should be embraced as a practical reminder that a stronger Guyana depends on a healthier population capable of participating fully in the country’s social and economic progress.
The challenge now is to turn 30 minutes from a presidential appeal into a daily national habit.

The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has engaged psychologist and behaviour modification consultant Wil Campbell to strengthen support for players and national team personnel, as part of its continuing modernisation programme.
Announcing the engagement on October 2, the Board said the initiative will help cricketers, coaches, managers and other team members prepare for the psychological, emotional and professional demands of high-performance sport.
Work has already begun with at least one player, for whom the GCB has facilitated a professional assessment and ongoing remedial procedures.
The engagement reflects the Board’s view that cricket development must include more than technical skills, physical conditioning and tactical preparation. It is also placing greater emphasis on the mental and psychological wellbeing of players and support personnel as they manage the pressures and expectations of competitive and professional cricket.

GCB President Bissoondyal Singh welcomed Campbell and expressed confidence that his expertise would contribute to the development and overall preparedness of players, coaches and team management personnel.
Campbell is an academic at the University of Guyana and a practising psychologist licensed by the Allied Health Professions Council of Guyana. His professional work includes psychological intervention, anger-management therapy, grief therapy, behaviour modification and psychosocial capacity building.
His consultancy experience includes work with local and international organisations, among them the Organization of American States, USAID, ExxonMobil Corporation, the Guyana Prison Service and the Ministry of Human Services.
The Board considers the engagement an important step towards establishing a more comprehensive and professional support structure for Guyana’s cricketers.
In welcoming Campbell, the GCB said it looked forward to a productive relationship as it continues to strengthen its high-performance and player-development programmes.

Tapeball cricket takes centre stage at the Lusignan Ground as eight remaining heavyweights lock horns in a blockbuster Super Saturday quarter-final slate in the Georgetown and East Coast Demerara zone of the Lotto/Let’sBet One Guyana T10 Tapeball Blast.
With three zone champions already safely tucked into the national phase, the region’s top local contenders earned their stripes across the Demerara Cricket Club and Lusignan grounds to keep their campaigns alive.
At stake is more than just regional bragging rights; victory punches a ticket to Sunday’s zonal finals at Enmore and keeps alive the dream of claiming the ultimate GY$2 million national bounty at the Anna Regina National Stadium on October 11.

Defending national champions Titans Rams headline the morning session as they step out at 09:30h to face a hungry Pure Entertainment side in the opening fixture.
Titans Rams arrive with the target firmly on their backs, but their championship pedigree will be tested immediately in this high-pressure 10-over sprint. The action rolls seamlessly into the mid-morning clash at 11:30h, where Diamond Gunners gear up to square off against SVC/AJM CC in a high-stakes duel.
As the afternoon heat peaks, the tension only amplifies. Better Hope CC take on Team Corruption at 13:30h in a contest where big hitters on both sides will look to seize momentum early.
Wrapping up the Super Eight schedule at 15:30h, Housing Warriors collide with Avinash All-Stars in a blockbuster finale to determine the last semi-final slot.
For local cricket enthusiasts, the atmosphere at Lusignan promises to be electric with free admission across the venue, though spectators should note that coolers will not be permitted into the ground.
Beyond the shot at the national crown, significant monetary rewards are up for grabs throughout the knockout round.
Navin and Sons Construction has sponsored the zone champion prize of $500,000, while Camille’s Academy has put up $200,000 for the runners-up.
The two losing semi-finalists will pocket $50,000 each, compliments of OGN, and every losing quarter-finalist will receive $25,000, compliments of Scoop Ride Inc.
The four surviving sides from Saturday’s frantic slate will head straight to the Enmore Community Centre Ground on Sunday, October 4, starting at 10:00h, where the semi-finals and zonal final will decide who advances to represent the zone on the grand stage at Anna Regina.

Riley Ketwaroo scored twice as Three Mile Secondary defeated Bartica Secondary 4–0 to advance to the group stage of the inaugural ExxonMobil Guyana U18 Schools Football competition on Friday afternoon.
The opening match at the Bartica Community Centre Ground in Region Seven launched the tournament organised by the Vurlon Mills Football Academy (VMFA).
Ketwaroo put Three Mile ahead in the 12th minute, scoring the only goal of the first half as his team took a 1–0 advantage into the break.
Bartica Secondary remained within a goal until the 68th minute, when Ketwaroo struck again. His second goal began a late scoring burst that saw Three Mile find the net three times in six minutes.

Eric Stephens extended the lead in the 71st minute before Isaiah Daniels completed the scoring in the 74th, sealing Three Mile’s progression.
Another group-stage place will be decided on Saturday, October 3, when Kwebanna Secondary meets St Nicholas Primary Top at the same venue. Kick-off is scheduled for 16:00h.
VMFA will announce fixtures for the other participating regions in the coming week, with the wider nationwide programme of matches beginning on October 9.
The competition will feature 68 male teams and 50 female teams from eight of Guyana’s 10 Administrative Regions. With 118 teams involved, it is one of the country’s largest grassroots school football initiatives in recent years.