Three months have passed since Minister Bonett gave us a presentation lasting over an hour and a half explaining how he was going to solve the traffic problem. Today, when we were meant to start seeing results, we are still exactly where we were, the Nationalist Party said Wednesday.

Worse still, the Minister is now telling us that what was supposed to be his flagship promise, that drivers willing to give up their driving licence for five years would receive €25,000, is now stuck in traffic.

During a press conference in Marsa, Shadow Minister for Transport and Mobility Mark Anthony Sammut and Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Capital Projects Joe Giglio said that after Minister Chris Bonett had announced this measure with great fanfare last March, copying a measure originally proposed by the Partit Nazzjonalista years ago, he has now said, just two days ago, that this will only be a pilot project, or an experiment. He was not even able to clarify who would be eligible for this pilot project. This measure was supposed to come into force by last month.

The same applies to the promised ferry service to Gozo stopping at Buġibba, which was also supposed to launch this summer.

It is clear that when Chris Bonett presented his traffic measures with so much trumpet-blowing, he had not done his homework properly, the speakers said. So much so, that after he announced everything, the Finance Minister put the brakes on the €25,000 scheme for those who stop driving. Following criticism that came from the sector itself and the pressure mounted by the Opposition, the Minister was also forced to make a U-turn on another measure that would have increased the number of years a vehicle needs to qualify as vintage from 30 to 35. Instead of thinking things through before announcing them, the Minister drove blindfolded and hit a wall.

Not only has the Government failed to solve the traffic problem, but the daily inconvenience experienced by drivers across practically every part of the Maltese Islands continues to grow with roadworks closing streets around every corner for weeks and months on end.

It is evident wherever you look that we have a Government trying to fix the crises it created itself, rather than leading with a plan. This is management by crisis. It is clear that many of the Government's authorities are not working in synch, and there is a lack of communication and coordination of resources.

One needs only observe the chaos currently unfolding in areas such as St Julian's, St Paul's Bay, Mellieħa, and Ċirkewwa, and the total lack of traffic management wherever works are being carried out, the speakers said.

Just a few days ago, the Transport Minister announced the creation of a new unit to investigate traffic incidents. It quickly became evident that he was unaware that the Police had just set up an identical unit weeks earlier, with the minister then having to clarify that both units, which have exactly the same purpose, would now be working together.

By contrast, the PN said it believes in leading with a plan, including in this sector. It believes that solving the traffic problem requires a comprehensive plan that brings together various measures, not a fragmented one announced today and changed tomorrow.

In particular, this means implementing a mass transit system and significantly improving and expanding the public transport service.

To achieve this, there must be a serious will to provide the Maltese and Gozitan people with real solutions for a better quality of life. A will that, so far, the Government has only shown in words but has failed to deliver in practice.

Minister's reply

In replyt, the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works, Chris Bonett, condemned what he said was "the misrepresentation of facts by the Opposition regarding the measures related to the 'Reshaping Our Mobility' initiative."

After Minister Bonett gave an update on the measures carried out so far, those that will be implemented in the coming two weeks, and other measures that were completed ahead of schedule, the Opposition came out criticising the plans and their implementation. This is despite the fact that these measures will be implemented in their entirety over a span of 18 months and after continuous consultations with experts, social partners, and the public, the minister said.

Bonett stated that from the moment he announced these measures last March, he kept his word to journalists to periodically provide updates on how the plan is being carried out. The fact that the Nationalist Party consistently tries to attack the reforms and in the same breath claims the Government is copying their ideas shows political immaturity, lack of credibility, and more than that confirms that the Opposition does not genuinely want transport issues to be addressed in our country. They are comfortable only criticising without offering any proposals, he said.

Factually, this government is changing the way we travel in the country, the minister said. From an efficient public transport system with new and extended routes to unprecedented investment in maritime transport to better coordination between entities when it comes to road works to dozens of incentives aimed at organising transport in the country more effectively.

This government is committed to continuing reform, taking bold decisions, and above all with the help and involvement of the people. This is in contrast to previous administrations and today's Opposition, which never offered anything in this sector and still lacks ideas to this day, the minister said.