Thousands of litres of water are being lost as thieves ply their trade by stealing water meters. The last several months have seen an increase of stolen water meters in the greater Overport area and thieves tend to strike in the early hours of the morning, sometimes stealing two water meters in close proximity.
Residents either wake up to the sound of gushing water that floods streets, sometimes for an entire day, or they wake up to no water in their taps. SAPS Mayville’s Captain John Ngema said that residents should report theft of water meters so that the police can compile statistics and that reporting the theft also helps residents with a claim for water loss with the municipality.
EThekwini Secure Spokesperson, Zain Soosiwala, said that the number of water meters being stolen is worrying. “Recently we recorded the theft of 19 water meters within a few days,” said Soosiwala.
Following a series of questions tabled at a full council meeting last month, ACC Councillor Imtiaz Syed asked the eThekwini Municipality whether there was a special investigative unit to deal with and inspect the damage and theft of infrastructure and whether any cases were opened with the police.
“There is no special investigative unit created and no cases have been opened,” said a spokesperson for the municipality. “We cannot waste limited resources and have teams waiting in long queues in SAPS stations, instead of repairing faults. Infrastructure theft and vandalism takes place every hour in a day.”
On the question of the financial implications in terms of losses, repairs and restoration, the spokesperson said that it “cannot be quantified, but is in the billions”.
While there is definitely an outlet for stolen water meters and copper cables, Syed asked whether the municipality consulted with SAPS on the Second Hand Goods Act looking at second-hand and scrap dealers outlets. The spokesperson said that the eThekwini Municipality “does not consult with SAPS”.
Capt Ngema said that residents should immediately call 10111 to report stolen municipal infrastructure. Residents are urged to report incidents to SAPS so that investigations can take place to bring an end to the theft of municipal infrastructure. “It is important that everything must be reported, no matter how insignificant it might seem.”
