The Ashaiman District Court has sentenced Samuel Kpomble, a 25-year-old labourer, to six months' imprisonment with hard labour for stealing water meters belonging to the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL).

The court, presided over by Derrick Parden Eshun, convicted Kpomble on his own plea of guilty to the charges.

The facts of the case revealed that Kpomble, along with an accomplice who is currently at large, was arrested by residents on Monday, August 21, 2024, at Golf City in the Kpone-Katamanso Municipality around 1:00 p.m. for stealing GWCL water meters. He was subsequently handed over to the Golf City Police and arraigned before the court following investigations.

Meanwhile, Sampson Ampah, the Tema Regional Communications Manager of GWCL, informed the Ghana News Agency that the region had recorded over 500 meter thefts in the past three months.

Ampah noted that there were reports from the police where customers had reported the thefts and requested replacements.

He explained that the current meters being installed, along with other components such as the stopcock and safety valve, are all plastic.

“We are, therefore, appealing to scrap dealers to avoid purchasing any GWCL meters from unauthorized sources,” he said, adding that “the situation is quite alarming, especially considering that we have to replace these meters at a cost to GWCL.”

He urged the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious activities related to water meter theft to the police.