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At approximately 08h00 this morning, 5-armed men robbed an ALLPAY pension pay-out point at Site-C in Kayelitsha. The robbers overpowered a security guard and a policeman who were guarding the entrance to the pay-out facility. Two ALLPAY staff members were assaulted during the robbery. When the robbery took place, 70 pensioners had already been paid their pensions. No pensioners had been injured or assaulted during the robbery. It is estimated that an amount of approximately R250 000 had been stolen. By 10h30 this morning, ALLPAY had replaced the stolen money, and put a second pay-out machine in place to speed up the pension pay-out process.

As the MEC responsible for Social Services in the Western Cape, I wish to express my utter disgust and contempt for what has happened this morning. It is a shameful day when our senior citizens become targets for criminals. On the one hand, I am very relieved that no pensioner had been harmed during the robbery, but on the other hand, I am disgusted that criminals can target innocent senior citizens.

I ask that if anyone has any information that may lead to the arrest and conviction of the robbers, that they come forward and provide this information to the South African Police Services. I further implore the South African Police Services to leave no stone unturned in finding the perpetrators of this crime as soon as possible.

I want to thank ALLPAY for reacting very speedily to resume the pay-out process, and I apologise to our senior citizens for the disruption and inconvenience that they may have experienced.

Contact: Sam Dodgen at (021) 4835457/0828219018

Issued by: Office of the MEC of Social Services and Poverty Relief, Western Cape, 12 November 20001