Sev­er­al band­lead­ers are chal­leng­ing Prime Min­is­ter Dr Row­ley’s com­ments about for­eign ex­change be­ing wast­ed on the im­por­ta­tion of Car­ni­val cos­tumes, say­ing the truth of the in­dus­try is that it is just too ex­pen­sive to make mas with lo­cal­ly sourced raw ma­te­ri­als.

Speak­ing on Tues­day at the sod-turn­ing cer­e­mo­ny for Nu­trim­ix’s An­i­mal Feed and Pet Food plant in Point Lisas, Row­ley em­pha­sised that cos­tumes should be lo­cal­ly sourced, not­ing the im­por­ta­tion of cos­tumes was drain­ing the coun­try of much-need­ed forex.

How­ev­er, Ex­ou­sia Mas leader Col­in Prov­i­dence says while he agrees with Dr Row­ley’s sug­ges­tion about sup­port­ing lo­cal, he felt the Prime Min­is­ter did not have the rel­e­vant knowl­edge of what’s hap­pen­ing in the in­dus­try.