‘Illegal water connection is theft’: Legal expert calls for stiff punishment

Ugandan national Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) Principal Legal officer, Aloysious Kaijuka has said illegal water connections are theft and culprits should be given stiff punishment.

He said this during a presentation to member of Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) benchmarking visit to Kampala, Uganda to appreciate the initiative being carried out by NWSC.

Kaijuka said “ illegal water connections should not be treated with kid gloves and Water Boards need to stand up to stamp out the malpractices.”

He said illegal water connections work to the disadvantage of the water supplying institutions.

“If you can calculate the loss of water through such acts you will find that a lot of money is being waste through illegal means and this should not be taken lightly,” Kaijuka hinted.

He said the awareness of communities the involvement of the Judiciary, police and the media is crucial in the drive to reduce the acts and community awareness is essential in the drive.

Commissioner of Police for Central Region, John Nyondo said the visit has provided an insight on how police could help the water boards to curb incidences of illegal water connections.

He said police involvement in such issues is very paramount and special officers need to be conversant with the issues should their investigations are done accurately.

“The Ugandan model of handle cases of illegal water connections seems to be a very comprehensive one and Malawi as a country we could copy some of the concepts and implement them fully,” Nyondo added.

He said LWB and Malawi Police Service need to development a strong partnership in order to address the issue of illegal water connections particularly in developing areas of the city.

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