Several residents along Persimmon Street in Malvern woke up to dry taps on Tuesday, October 28, after their meters were stolen during the night.
The EXPRESS recently published a story about nine water meters that were stolen from Jules Street about two weeks ago.
Mr Qaphelani Ndlovu, a resident in Persimmon Street, said he came home around 12am on Tuesday night and did not notice anything wrong. When he woke up in the morning, the taps were dry. At first he thought it was a general problem, until he spoke to his neighbours who confirmed they had water in their houses.
Mr Pius Nwachukwu, who is a tenant in one of the houses, said they realised something was wrong as they were getting the children ready for school.
“We thought the water was gone, but as we went out to take the children to school, we realised the water meters were gone. There was water was everywhere,” he said.
About four water meters were missing. Some of the residents expressed their anger, accusing scrap metal dealers of buying stolen water meters.
The City of Joburg (CoJ) has placed plastic water meters in some streets in the area, but residents say the CoJ is not installing the meters properly because they are over-exposed and can be damaged by vehicles.
Mr Jaston Mbaku, the owner of a scrap metal dealer in Jules Street, said he knows what the meters look like and will not buy any.
“If the police find a water meter in my shop, I know it will be closed down and they will take away my licence. That is why I never buy water meters,” he said.
He advised other scrap metal dealers to be vigilant and know what they are buying.
Another scrap metal dealer, Mr Mzokhona Ximba, also said he will not purchase stolen water meters because it is against the law. He claims he can also identify the meters.
Mr Ngabe Vally said his company was briefed by the SAPS regarding what can and cannot be bought.
According to Mr Vally, they were also advised to always obtain ID numbers and the contact details from people selling scrap metal.
“We do not buy any municipal property, like barriers, sign boards and the other such items,” said Mr Vally.
“Our main problem is that there are too many scrap metal dealers in Jules Street alone. This becomes a problem when there is illegal activity, like water meters being stolen, because all the dealers become suspects,” he added.
A request for comment was sent to Joburg Water. At the time of going to press, no comment was received.
