During an interview, architect Audrey Testaferrata de Noto, head of research and development at Transport Malta, said that traffic in Malta was not a problem but only a perception. This provoked much criticism, especially from those who spend hours on end stuck in traffic jams at every hour of the day.

People are wondering how the architect travels.

Such a statement, besides being unrealistic, offends the taxpayer as it makes one feel that one is being taken for a ride.

Why doesn’t she ask parents who have to drive their children to school every morning how their otherwise 10-minute drive takes them almost 60 minutes?

She may also ask those who have to leave home much earlier than usual to go to work.

Deliverymen often fail to distribute all their goods as they waste too much time on the road. All this is causing a lot of frustration and stress.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was quoted as saying that the problem of traffic was acute and not a perception and that it was affecting our economy.

Describing unrealistic situations in a positive way is both unfair and not acceptable and the least Testaferrata de Noto can do is to make a public apology for the way she has offended public intelligence.