It is today a misnomer to speak of Johannesburg as the city of gold as there is no more gold mining in the city other than the reprocessing of those mine dumps. Gauteng and eGoli only bring fond memories of goldmining in and around Johannesburg.
Thus, most countries had flexibility to ease policies, which helped to dampen the impact of the crisis particularly on poverty alleviating initiatives. However, countries that did not have flexibility of easing macroeconomic policies continued to rely heavily on foreign aid. Policy adjustments in most of the African countries have been country-specific.