The affairs of the African Global Operations (AGO) group of companies, formerly Bosasa, should not be under the care of the ‘rampant activities’ of liquidators who should not have been appointed in the first place. A TimesLIVE report says this submission was made in the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) by AGO's counsel, Mike Hellens SC, yesterday.

Judgment was reserved on the holding company's application for an order declaring that the special resolution taken by six directors of AGO on 12 February placing the group under liquidation was void from the beginning and of no force and effect as it was not properly passed. The company also seeks an order that Cloete Murray and Ralph Lutchman have no rights as provisional liquidators or liquidators in respect of the companies.

Hellens told acting Judge Goolam Ameer the trigger for the liquidation, a special resolution by all companies under African Global Holdings, was never legally pulled.

He said the six AGO directors needed a solution following the closure of their bank accounts following allegations of state capture levelled against the companies. Given the closure of the companies’ bank accounts, Hellens said the advice received from attorney Danie Potgieter was that the only option available to the group was to voluntary liquidate the affected companies.

However, Ameer said papers before court showed that the six directors signed the documents voluntarily. ‘On what basis do I now ignore this evidence and say no meeting took place,’ Ameer asked. Hellens said the directors needed a solution and debated business rescue with the attorney. Hellens said while Potgieter advised that the directors put the companies into liquidation, there were no properly convened meetings for each of the companies, as required by the Companies Act.

However, notes TimesLIVE, counsel for the liquidators, Werner Luderitz SC, said the companies were insolvent as they could not pay debts because they did not have bank accounts. He said the directors then nominated Ralph Lutchman as liquidators, but noted the real problem was that the Master of the High Court appointed another liquidator, Cloete Murray, who took charge of the companies, which was not what the directors intended.

‘That's why we are here,’ Luderitz said.

Full TimesLIVE report