300 water meters stolen in 31 days

Northern Region Water Board (NRWB) has reported that over 300 meters have been stolen in Mzuzu City, a development that has negatively affected concerned customers.

In an interview on Monday, the board’s public relations manager Edward Nyirenda said 62 cases were recorded in the past two weeks.

He said: “It is worrisome that meter theft cases are on the rise, leaving customers with no access to clean water.

“Second, the situation makes the board lose a lot of water and resources to replace the stolen meters.”

Nyirenda has since urged people to share information pertaining to meter theft with the board or the police.

Mzuzu Police Station spokesperson Paul Tembo said they were aware of the rise in vandalism and theft of NRWB meters.

He said they were working to arrest the culprits.

“We are conducting patrols in all locations where the incidents are rampant. We have also planned to conduct anti-vandalism campaigns with NRWB, targeting the public and scrap metal dealers as our intelligence points to them as likely markets of the stolen and vandalised equipment,” said Tembo.

He said investigations were underway into all reported cases of thefts and vandalism.

One of the customers, Keti Jafuli from Chibanja Township said her home has no water since last Tuesday when their water meter was stolen.

“I reported the matter to police and NRWB is yet to replace the meter,” she said.

Another customer, Joel Banda, a resident of Katoto Township, said their water meter was stolen last December and was replaced early this year.

In December, police arrested Willard Baison at Chibanja where he was allegedly found burning a stolen prepaid water meter.