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— Just One Day After His Press Conference Takedown, Minister Samal Duggins Jets Off Again in Search of Spotlight, Not Solutions

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS — July 10, 2025 | SKN Times

Just 24 hours after enduring a humiliating on-air verbal demolition by veteran journalist Glen Barth during his July press conference, Minister of Agriculture, Sports, Creative Economy and Cannabis, Samal Duggins, has once again skipped town — this time to attend a Ganja Symposium in Dominica, while the very cannabis industry he’s tasked with developing in St. Kitts and Nevis remains dead on arrival.

While sports facilities rot in disrepair, youth unemployment surges, and the creative economy lies in a coma, Duggins was photographed grinning ear to ear, sniffing smoke and soaking in sessions at Dominica’s National Cannabis Symposium, held July 9–10 at the State House Conference Centre in Roseau.

A Minister in Flight, Not in Action

The theme of the Dominica symposium — “Regulatory and Economic Environment for a Viable Medicinal Cannabis Industry” — might be appropriate for a country actually doing something with its cannabis policy. But in St. Kitts and Nevis? The only thing blooming is frustration.

“How many symposiums does it take to plant a seed?” one fed-up farmer asked SKN Times. “We’ve had more press releases than seedlings.”

Despite promises dating back to 2022, the St. Kitts-Nevis cannabis industry remains a pipe dream. No licensing authority. No cultivation zones. No real investor confidence. Just a few high-level meetings and a lot of PR fluff.

Meanwhile in Dominica…

Duggins joined regional policymakers and experts like UWI cannabis researcher Dr. Machel Emmanuel and author Brendon Roberts to discuss licensing, economic diversification, international investment, and cannabis’ cultural significance. Events included a Cannabis Investment Dinner, a Nyabinghi-led cultural interlude, and sessions on sustainable cultivation and transitioning cannabis from black market to billion-dollar industry.

Dominica is moving. St. Kitts-Nevis? Still stuck at the starting block.

The Homefront Reality Check

As Duggins galavants from ganja talk shops to global conferences, back home the scoreboard is grim:

• Basketball City remains abandoned and overgrown
• No functional cannabis policy or licensing regime
• Creative professionals still lack meaningful support
• Farmers cry foul over a “collapsed agriculture sector”
• The Ministry of Creative Economy is more invisible than innovative

And yet, Duggins remains obsessed with being seen instead of delivering results.

The Public Is Losing Patience

“This is not leadership. This is escapism dressed as engagement,” a senior political analyst told SKN Times. “The people want delivery — not digital flyers and symposium selfies.”

Duggins’ overseas streak continues to draw sharp criticism, especially following his cringe-worthy response to Glen Barth’s pointed questions about African trade and the reality of his ministry’s achievements — or lack thereof.

Time to Bring Back Accountability

With PLP’s Convention rallying momentum and the public increasingly vocal about ministerial underperformance, the contrast between rhetoric and reality is growing sharper by the day.

As Dominica builds its cannabis empire, St. Kitts and Nevis is being left behind — one plane ticket at a time.

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The people are watching — and they’re no longer buying the smoke show.

#DugginsGoneAgain #GanjaOverGovernance #StagnantCannabisSKN #WhereAreTheSeeds