Windhoek residents have been urged to be vigilant about a growing trend of water meter and electric gate motor theft.

These items are the latest hot targets for thieves in Windhoek, according to statistics compiled by the City of Windhoek and the City Police.

The Municipality Spokesperson, Lydia Amutenya, says that the City has of late experienced a spike in the theft of metal items, which she links to a rising number of water meter theft cases.

Since January, the City has recorded about 247 stolen water meters, 166 of which were in August alone.

While it is the municipality's responsibility to replace these water meters, Amutenya says residents equally have a duty to keep their meters safe, suggesting they lock them up.

Amutenya says the City spends about N$1,500 on replacing a single meter, which translates into it having spent more than N$300,000 so far this year on this duty.

Metal water meters are to be replaced with plastic ones in hopes of reducing theft, with many meters located outside of property yards.

Residents hoping to have their stolen water meters replaced by the City of Windhoek are required to submit a police declaration.

In terms of electric gate motors, the City Police recorded 15 such cases between August and October this year.

Acting Assistant Superintendant for Community Policing Johannes Emvula says these stolen items are resold in the communities.

He thus pleaded with members of the public not to support such illegal markets.

Emvula further urged the public to affix their gate motors to the ground, encase them in an anti-lift bracket, or employ other means to prevent their theft.