City team turns tide on Ndongeni Road water thieves

WATER and electricity thieves beware – Ethekwini Municipality is clamping down on those who have bypassed meters to steal water and electricity.

City officials carried out a blitz on an Ndongeni Road home on Monday, 5 February on suspicion that the water meter had been illegally bypassed some time ago.

Suspicious readings had shown a telltale dip in water usage, which led the municipality and its Isipingo Metro Police couterparts to dig more than a metre underground.

Their morning’s work revealed the water meter had been jammed with a screw. This method is used to corrupt the meter reading to reflect less usage by the consumer. The city’s team leader and officials said this is a common occurrence, with more than one case of water or electricity theft apparent every week.

The Ndongeni Road property tenant, who had recently moved in, had no idea about the bypassing of the water meter.

Read also: Municipality clamps down on illegal advertisers 

A mindset of entitlement leads many to believe they can take what they want without any repercussions. Officials explained that by doing so, rates then have to be increased to cover the stolen water or electricity.

“The home owner responsible for this theft will now have to apply for a new meter which can prove costly. They will be charged for an illegal bypass and after calculations are made by the municipality, they will have to pay back the cost of the water that was stolen over time,” explained Ethekwini officials.

Officials explained that when the public is faced with with sky-rocketing rates, they must realise that both the home owners and fraudsters who choose to execute their illicit plans are to blame for rising utility costs across the city.
The municipality is committed to finding out who is behind this corrupt practise.

“We urge anyone out there who knows who is being paid to bypass meters and who is paying them, to come forward,” said Ethekwini officials.

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