Some unscrupulous members of the society are depriving residents of the twin-city of Sekondi-Takoradi of quality utility services by stealing cables and removing meters belonging to essential service providers such as the Ghana Telecom, Ghana Water Company and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
The thieves steal telecommunication cables the very day they are laid.
Many customers of the Ghana Telecom complain of constant interruptions in services provided by the company as a result of the regular stealing of telephone cables.
In order to provide uninterrupted service to its customers, especially corporate bodies, whose daily business activities largely depend on telephone calls, e-mails and fax, among others, GT is compelled to readily replace the stolen cables.
In the area of water supply, there seems to be a new market for water meters as meter theft is on the increase.
The thieves remove meters from the service lines in the homes of customers of good standing.
This, according the Sekondi District Manager of Aqua Vitens Rands Limited, acting for and on behalf of Ghana Water Company, Mr Francis K. Amoah, one did not know exactly what the buyers used the meters for.
Mr Amoah said the situation was having a serious effect on the company’s operations as in some instances, water supply to the corporate entities were left unmetered or treated water would be gushing out freely.
The Regional Public Relations officer of the company, Mr Sampson Ampah, said it was sad that some people placed their individual interests above the larger public.
Asked if it was the duty of a customer to provide meters before water was installed in his or her premises, he said the company imported the meters and installed them for its customers.
He said the GWCL was not the only company which used such meters.
“One of the things we have heard but are yet to find out is that the stolen meters were being sold to rural dwellers where some private service providers are alleged to be requesting those who are interested in their services produce their meters in order to access their services, “ he alleged.
The Public Relations Officer said they were yet to verify the allegation but noted that in the past the company had its custom made meters on which the logo or the acronym of the company was embossed.
He said in answer to a question whether the meters had some peculiar feature which could attract people to steal them he said the mechanisms were purely plastic and of no particular economic value to warrant their theft.
At the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), it was clear that not all the power outages were blameable on the company because the thieves had found a way of cutting the pipelines supplying water to various communities.
The Regional Public Relations Officer of the ECG, Mr D. Adjei-Larbi, said the behaviour of some members of the general public was inexplicable, “it is completely a puzzle which is difficult to explain why somebody would attempt to cut a live wire supplying power to a community.”
The Public Relations officer described the cable thefts as sad and mind boggling, as on many occasions the thieves were found hanging dead on the cables. Where they succeeded in stealing cables they denied the communities of their services.
When contacted, the Western Regional Crime Officer, Mr Dennis Abade, said most of the cases did not come to their notice.
“We will not waste time acting on them because such activities are a complete setback to the advancement of society.”
He said the police needed information from the public to help combat the crime, especially during their night patrols, because the police did not only lookout for road traffic offenders, but also looked out for people of suspicious behaviour in the communities, for questioning and necessary action.
The regional crime officer warned people who had decided to satisfy their selfish interests that they would be dealt with when caught.
“We are all Ghanaians and we are entitled to peace and security, therefore the Ghana Police Service frowns upon an act or behaviour that deprives other members of the society of their comfort, ” the regional crime officer said.
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