Ouagadougou: The National Office of Water and Sanitation (ONEA) of the Center says it has lost around 150 million CFA francs in 2023, due to fraudulent connections operated by a network of alleged criminals.
The members of the network dismantled by the national gendarmerie were presented to the press on Thursday, in the presence of the Regional Director (DR) of ONEA-Centre, Moussa Semdé.
Moussa Semdé explained that the cases of fraud concern all the 5 ONEA agencies in Ouagadougou (central agency, Tampouy, the Zone of Various Activities (ZAD), 1,200 housing units and that of Gounghin.
The financial damage linked to these fraudulent connections is growing day by day, according to him.
‘We have a lot of water loss that we cannot explain and just yesterday, we arrested another person who engages in this practice,’ he said.
According to the head of the economic and financial unit of the gendarmerie research section in Ouagadougou, chief warrant officer Aimé Yaméogo, the ZAD agency alone suffered a loss of 30,
862,606 CFA francs from 2020 to 2024 due to water fraudsters.
According to the chief warrant officer, one of the operating methods consists of direct connections outside the meters and keeping the houses always closed, preventing agents from having access to them.
They also use meters not approved by ONEA.
‘They acquire the meters that are on the market and place them in the house to give the impression that there is a meter. However, due to the fact that it is not part of our network, the consumption of this meter is beyond ONEA’s control,’ clarified Mr. Yaméogo.
He specified that in this fraud case 23 of the 42 suspected households were investigated.
‘These investigations made it possible to arrest 5 alleged fraudsters who will be presented to the Faso prosecutor, near the Ouaga I high court, for further action,’ said Chief Warrant Officer Aimé Yaméogo.
He also informed the press that other cases of fraudulent connections exist in the city of Ouagadougou and that the gendarmerie is continuing the inve
stigation in order to unmask all the perpetrators of this practice.
Source: Burkina Information Agency