BNI Grabs Water Thieves

THREE OFFICIALS of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) have been arrested by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) for illegal water connections in some parts of Accra.

The three, together with some residents, have the habit of doing illegal connections by siphoning water supposed to be supplied to various communities.

Hon. Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, who disclosed this on the floor of Parliament yesterday, described the culprits as 'saboteurs'.

The minister was answering questions posed by some Members of Parliament (MPs) whose constituencies faced water-related problems.

He said his outfit was considering the possibility of “tracking down “ people engaged in commercial water distribution in KIA trucks, some of whom were suspected to be involved in illegal water connections.

He warned that GWCL Staff members who “have been sabotaging the water supply system” would be dealt with severely.

Hon Owusu-Agyeman, also the MP for New Juabeng South, said Ghanaians should realise that water supply was integral to development and “anybody caught interfering with this strategic social service will be dealt with”.

He said it was unfortunate that illegal water connection had assumed such alarming proportions to the extent that some people had been siphoning water from water hydrants- a situation which could cause serious havoc in case of a fire outbreak.

He assured the MPs that government was doing its best to ensure that all problems associated with water supply would soon be over.

“The scale of Government's intervention in the water sector is so massive that we will and should meet the Millennium Development Goal by the year 2015 and even beyond.”

By Sylvanus Nana Kumi