Over the past few weeks I have often been asked for my views on the unpleasant situation faced by motorists every day. The subject of traffic has never been so topical.

But I find it unacceptable that so much is being said about it when so little is being done to find solutions.

Recently in Parliament, Transport Minister Joe Mizzi admitted the government did not have a plan in place for new roads to be constructed or maintained. This is one of the sectors that has been abandoned by this administration but which is part of the long-term solution to the traffic problems.

Short-term solutions alone will get us nowhere. Mr Mizzi needs to avoid getting stuck (excuse the pun) down this road and move on to more permanent solutions.

We were meant to be gearing up to live life in the fast lane. I remind readers that this government was elected on the strength of a number of pretenses, including that they had a plan to put in place from the word go.

It is now becoming evident that there was no plan and this applies to practically everything.

It now sounds so cliché but Joseph Muscat had created a vibe in February 2013 when he launched his election manifesto. I remember him saying (knowing words are cheap) that his electoral manifesto was “a programme of work and not a bid for votes”. It was “not a list of promises, but a realistic project with a vision of being the best in Europe”.

I mention this in order to recall where all this started from. We were meant to be going places, not down a cul-de-sac.

In Labour’s 836 proposals, traffic was given a fair mention. A new Labour government was going to draw up a national traffic management plan to identify bottlenecks and list the priorities to be tackled immediately.

Eighteen months down the line, when we should have come to the implantation stage of such a plan, nothing has yet been presented. The government seems to be constantly studying and analysing situations and concluding on nothing.

We were meant to be gearing up to live life in the fast lane

I am aware that I am shadow minister for transport and infrastructure and not traffic alone. Mizzi too needs to understand this. He cannot allow himself to get stuck on this one issue when we are already one-third of the way through this administration. Perhaps this is a topic that the well-compensated government spokesman Carmelo Abela could tackle as part of his daily chores which he is given by the Prime Minister. What is certain is that the government needs to get its act together and deal with the number of problems that are arising from this national problem.

Mizzi needs to tackle other pressing issues as well.

I would like to move on and discuss oil exploration, the coordination of (inexistent) government projects and other infrastructural priorities our country is facing. But I fear that the minister has become too consumed by the many day-to-day issues caused by mismanagement of his portfolio to focus with a clear mind on the vision he had spelled out.

I can only reiterate my commitment towards my parliamentary work in flagging the shortcomings of this sector and offer solutions and remedies.

I also understand the anxiety of people who convincingly elected this government so it would provide them with the solutions that Labour so readily claimed to have prior to taking office.

I will pursue this issue until it is resolved, but I look forward to also tackling other areas that have their rightful place on the national agenda.

Anthony Bezzina is a Nationalist MP.

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