The South African Companies Act of 2008 uses the term "dispose" without clearly defining the range of transactions that fall within its scope. As Section 112 of the Act is similar to Section 228 of the 1973 Companies Act, which it replaced, judicial decisions on the interpretation of "disposal" under the 1973 Companies Act may be useful.
Our courts have previously held that "dispose" in this context should be given its ordinary meaning, which refers to a transfer of ownership, rather than the extended meaning of the word "disposition" in the Insolvency Act.
Therefore, in the context of Section 112, it is arguable that "dispose" means a permanent transfer of ownership of the assets from the transferor (such as through a sale), and does not include simply encumbering the assets with, for example, a mortgage bond, pledge, or the granting of pre-emptive rights.
However, we will have to wait for the SCA to finally rule on this subject matter.