By Africa24 journalist
Most parts in Waterloo have become hotspots for thieves who go about stealing out overhead power lines.
The criminal practice undertaken by this group of men is said to go unabated.
Last time, a thief or some thieves high jacked the electric cables at Jallon Drive on York Road, off a council’s building, Western Area Rural District Council office.
The thieves there had removed some long-length of coated aluminum power cables about three times to probably sell it off to some agents or blacksmith men who are in of either the copper or aluminum.
This criminal activity is affecting a lot of the residents in York Road and other communities in Waterloo.
A York Road woman told Africa24 how she felt when some thieves stole away their power line about three times now.
“I would have to pay a electrician Le 230,000 as my individual contribution so that we could get to put up another power pole and a power cable.
“We’re to contribute a total of Le 1.8 million to buy the cables and the electric timber pole,” says, madam Kadiatu, a landlady at Jalloh Drive, York Road.
The York Road community is deprived of many social services like a community centre, pure drinking water, and access to electricity.
And it is these challenges including bad roads that are seriously hindering the well-being of many residents in Waterloo in the West Area Rural District.
Since decades ago, that is from year 2000 to now, Waterloo is fraught with many bad roads and electricity supply is still a bigger problem yet to be addressed by governments over the years.
And the alarming rate of thieves, who steal power lines, is making most communities in Waterloo especially York Road, Fortune Lane, Grassfield, to become dark at night, something which makes the thieves to be happy as they could sneak out the night to steal people’s properties.
These communities in Waterloo are known to be housing thieves.
The absence of electricity at Jalloh Drive is said to affect the lives of a number of households, causing school-going children to sleep early without having the chance to study because there is power cut.