Pictures of a pole erected at the foot of a wheelchair ramp in Rabat emerged on social media on Tuesday, causing people to laugh and some others to infuriatingly criticise the authorities for their "negligent work".

The pictures were posted by independent candidate Arnold Cassola and show the pole in the middle of a seemingly new ramp with a white aluminium railing for pushchairs and wheelchairs. The pole completely blocks the ramp, rendering it useless.

The ramp is situated outside a housing complex in Rabat and was likely built to complement a blue badge parking space that is situated right at its foot.

"The Maltese ċwieċ (fools) leading our country," read Cassola's caption with the post.

Unsurprisingly, people expressed disbelief, and one man said: "We are the actual fools, not them, because they are being paid good money to do this."

Another man jokingly suggested the pole might be "a standing policeman so that wheelchairs don't exceed speed limits".

It is, however, unclear what came first - whether it was the ramp or the pole. It is, in the words of another man in the Facebook comments, a true "chicken and egg situation".

But others were not so quick to disparage the authorities and offered reasonable alternatives to the seemingly ridiculous situation.

"That pole was temporarily fixed there so that the people conducting works on the lift inside the building are protected from electric shocks. It will be removed once they're done," one man said.