Water meter and taps thieves terrorise residents

THIEVES have struck fear in Entumbane suburb where residents report daily cases of stolen water meters and taps as criminal syndicates take advantage of the prolonged water-shedding programme.

Bulawayo is undergoing a crippling water crisis, which sees residents going for days and weeks without the precious liquid and thieves have found an easy way to steal the water meters and taps as they can do so without causing alarm.

Over a dozen residents have fallen victim to the thieves and cases are increasing daily.

Mrs Mandipa Ncube said her tap was stolen in the early hours of yesterday as they were sleeping.

“We just woke up to find our meter and taps gone and I think it was because it was raining, which could have made it difficult to hear sounds outside,” she said.

“I heard some movements outside but I just ignored them as I did not expect that the sounds could actually be of thieves,” said Mrs Ncube.

Mrs Grace Gasela, who is also a victim, said she lost her tap last week. She said there is a need for the residents to unite and fight the new wave of crime affecting the suburb.

“They jumped over my precast wall and stole my tap but left the meter because it was secured. I was not home when this happened and was informed by my children in the morning,” she said.

“We reported the matter to Entumbane police who confirmed having a number of cases.”

Mrs Nokhuthula Mpofu said she fell victim late last week when the thieves stole her meter. She said she had opted to buy plastic taps, which are not targeted by the thieves.

“After reporting the case to police we were told to report to council as well. The council told us to buy another meter, which costs between US$35-US$40.

“The hardware shops only want US dollars, which I don’t have since I had not budgeted for it,” she said.

A local security expert and private investigator, who is also a resident of the suburb, Mr Nkosikhona Mlilo said tap and water meter theft cases are worsening in the suburb.

Mr Mlilo said some of the water reading meters have a strong market in South Africa, which could be the destination of the stolen items.

“The loss of taps and water meter readers is becoming common as thieves are seemingly targeting all houses. They are stealing at night when people are sleeping and I am not sure of the tricks they use not to be detected,” he said.

“We have realised that a lot of the taps stolen are not secured with cages and those who are mostly falling victim to this cause have not installed outside lights on their houses.”

Mr Ncube said residents must improve security in their homes and form community security teams to ward off thieves.

Bulawayo police spokesperson, Inspector Abednico Ncube, confirmed receiving the reports and appealed to members of the public to assist the police with information leading to the arrest of the culprits.