The Suame District police have arrested two suspects for allegedly stealing water meters belonging to the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWL).
The two, believed to be scrap dealers, were spotted by residents in the area and they apprehended them after a hot chase.
They were subsequently handed over to the police. They are expected to be processed and arraigned.
According to the Public Relations Officer of GWL-Ashanti, Ebenezer Padi Narh, this incident adds to the 65-meter theft cases recorded within four weeks.
He said they have recently recorded similar cases at Bantama, Abrepo and Kropong suburbs.
Mr. Narh stated that the thefts are impacting the company’s financial and technical operations as they have to replace the stolen meters at no cost to customers.
READ ALSO: 4 arrested for tampering with ECG meters
“We have to go and replace the meter free of charge. If we are recording an average of 60 cases of meter theft, just imagine the amount of money we have to spend to replace these meters. This is outside the faulty ones that we have to repair or replace. These monies could have been used in purchasing pipes and for extension works,” he said.
Although it remains unclear why these criminals steal the meters, GWL believes the metallic components of the meters are essential materials to them.
The company replaced its original metallic cased meters with plastics, but the new meters are continuously stolen and sold at a cheaper price.