A 52-year-old former Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) staff, Abraham Asare, has been arrested by the police for stealing at Larteh-Akuapem in the Eastern Region.
The former employee resigned from the company in 2022.
Asare is charged with stealing 23 pieces of eight-inch ductile iron pipes, which are crucial parts of the central distribution system that supply water to various communities.
Around 6:30 p.m. on December 12, 2023, in response to a distress call, Asare and his accomplices were apprehended by the police as they packed the stolen pipes into a KIA truck with registration number ER 587-20.
The overall worth of the stolen goods is GH₵ 299,000, with one 8-inch ductile iron pipe estimated to cost roughly GH₵13,000.
According to the Public Relations Officer of GWCL in Eastern Region, Kwadwo Daase, the arrest highlights the broader obstacles confronting the organisation, such as the theft of metres, the removal of metallic covers from its chambers, and the theft of electrical wires from its plants.
The GWCL continues to grapple with safeguarding its infrastructure against such criminal activities.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the region has recently faced rising transformer and cable thefts affecting its operations.