At the time, certain political developments in South Africa, supported by unfounded rumours about the health of President Mandela and resignations in the public sector, may have triggered the speculation against the rand.
With the advantage of hindsight, it is now clear that various unfavourable developments in the South African economy over the preceding two years justified the forceful action of the international financial markets. Firstly, during 1994 and 1995, real gross domestic expenditure in South Africa grew by about 6 per cent per year, and gross domestic product by about 3 per cent.