Electricity office reportedly says Sittwe residents have to pay for stolen electric cables

By DMG 30 Nov 2022

DMG Newsroom
30 November 2022, Sittwe

Sittwe electricity authorities have warned that local residents will have to bear costs of repair in case of the theft of electric cables in their wards. Local residents have criticised the order.

Copper electric cables were stolen on November 26 in Mizan and Yupa (North) wards in Sittwe. Each household in those wards had to give 10,000 kyats to the electricity office for repairs to get electricity back, said a Mizan Ward resident.

“Authorities should think about how to prevent theft instead of making residents pay. Do we have to pay every time that cables are stolen? We can’t be on watch 24/7,” said the resident.

It is the duty of law enforcement personnel to prevent theft, he added.

Another resident of Mizan Ward said: “They must do something to prevent theft. It doesn’t make sense for us to pay every time. They should properly guard transformers; for example, fencing with barbed wire. It appears that ward residents will have to do night watch. It is not OK for us.”

The township electricity office issued a notification on November 26 stating that in future, electricity supply will be resumed only after the thieves are arrested. The notification also said that responsibility is assigned to ward residents to take care of electric cables in the wards, and residents will have to share the costs of new cables if cables are stolen.

An electrical engineer from the Sittwe District electricity office denied collecting money from ward residents for repair costs.

“It is an instruction that came from the Electricity Ministry, and not by us. And we don’t collect money from residents in making repairs. A large amount of electric cables has been stolen daily in Sittwe. And we take new cables [from the Electricity Ministry] for replacement. Our notification only tried and urged ward residents to help us,” said the electrical engineer.

Motorbike theft and burglaries have also been reported in Sittwe, in addition to the theft of electric cables from municipal power supply systems. Locals criticise the weak rule of law.

“We can only rely on ourselves to prevent theft, and can’t rely on others. There have been increased cases of theft in this day and age,” said the manager of a Wi-Fi service provider in Sittwe.