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Police in have arrested eight people in connection with the illegal water connections around Narok town.
The crackdown targeted ending cases of water shortage and address the issue of revenue loss.
It was conducted by Narok county commissioner Isaac Masinde, Narok Water and Sewerage Company (NARWASCO) officials led by their Managing Director Justus Lemein, and police.
According to Masinde, those nabbed were found destroying laid water pipes to channel water to their businesses in the lower Majengo estates of the town.
“We started a crackdown in the lower Majengo estate and arrested those who were illegally connecting water to their premises and evading paying water bills. We will move to all places to ensure that people respect the law,” Masinde said.
Masinde said those arrested will be arraigned and would serve as an example to others.
“The water company needs the money for general management of the water sector and that cannot be achieved if few individuals collude to evade paying bills,” he said.
The crackdown, he said, will be carried out in all other major towns like Olulung’a, Suswa, and Kilgoris where the company supplies water.
The administrator noted that the government had instituted a Water Police Unit in the county that will guard against water theft and provide security in major water points where equipment has been vandalised.
Masinde appealed to the area residents to identify and volunteer to give information about individuals, who connect water illegally in their premises to the relevant authorities.
“I called upon all the people to apply for water connection and avoid using unscrupulous people to get water through diversion which will deny other residents the much-needed commodity even after exercising their rights by paying water services.”
On his part, Lemein said the county loses 40 percent of its water to non-revenue water which is far higher than the national average of 18 per cent.
He said that his company is working to reduce the non-revenue water to below 20 per cent by the end of the year following the establishment of a water police unit in the area.
“The illegal connections attract a high fine of over Sh30,000, which is more expensive than paying the monthly water bills,” he said.
The MD called on consumers with huge bills to visit their offices and sign a commitment letter on how they plan to clear them without being disconnected.
“I appealed to the locals not to connect water through illegal diversion because when water is stolen, it becomes difficult to pay salaries for our staff and repairing the pipes,” the company boss said.
Early this year, the government formed a specialised police unit to curb the rising cases of vandalism and theft of the country’s water supply and sanitation infrastructure.
The Water Police Unit comprises officers drawn from the Administration Police Service and will be integrated into Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit (CIPU).
The unit will provide special protection of all storage and supply assets, systems, and networks owned and operated by the eight Water Works Development Agencies across the country. BY THE STAR