Police in the Ashanti region have arrested two individuals in connection with the theft of Ghana Water Company Limited meters in the Suame Municipality.
The suspects were caught during a coordinated operation led by Unit Committee Members of the company.
According to the Ghana Water Company Limited, meter theft has been rampant in the Ashanti region in recent years.
Ebenezer Padi Narh, Ashanti Regional Public Relations Officer for the Ghana Water Company Limited, in an interview, stated that at least 70 meters have been reported missing this year in parts of the region.
Mr Narh said that the Unit Committee Members and volunteers conducted an operation, chasing three suspects and apprehending two.
Three water meters and other Ghana Water Company equipment were retrieved from the suspects’ sacks.
He emphasised that the arrests confirm that meter theft is a real issue, costing the company through replacement costs.
Mr Narh noted that even with the introduction of smart meters with plastic components, theft and tampering continue.
The suspects are currently in Police custody as they [police] process the suspects for further action.
“This morning, we received information from New Suame that the unit committee members undertook some operations. Within the assembly, there is this rampant issue of customers or residents complaining that their water meters getting missing each day. So, the unit committee members and then volunteers within the community decided to tackle people they suspect to be engaging in these activities. God being so good, they were able to chase three young men or young guys with sacks and one was able to escape.”
“They were able to apprehend two and from the sack they were able to retrieve three water meters with tap…This shows that clearly the myth or the belief that nobody is stealing our meter is not true. There are people going about stealing meters which is costing the company because we do replacement of meters without any charges, and this is costly these days.”
“They were complaining that probably is because the meters we are using have copper components. Now management has gone further to procure even smart meters, which is just they are all plastic. Even so, they are still tampering or destroying this meter. We are grateful to the Suame police for assisting, the volunteers when they brought the culprits. My discussion with the police shows that they are processing them for the next step within the law,” he stated.
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