Last year South Africans gnashed their teeth as the rand lost over a third of its value against the dollar. Rich whites moaned that there would be no more holidays abroad or fancy foreign cars; more seriously, the poor watched food costs rise, as prices of oil, transport and imported grain all surged. President Thabo Mbeki told a judge to lead a commission to investigate the rand's collapse. Some blamed instability in neighbouring Zimbabwe; others faulted the sluggish pace of economic reform. Johannesburg was thick with rumours of wicked plots by traders and investment banks to sell the currency short. Some even accused the world's financial markets of racism. Trevor Manuel, the finance minister, blamed "little twerps" in London for trading against the rand.
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