This paper considers three policy reforms current in Africa: financial liberalisation, consumer price decontrol, and trade liberalisation. It is argued that financial liberalisation is not only fiscally very costly, but that the gains from improved financial intermediation depend upon a prior fiscal improvement to reduce public indebtedness. It is therefore intrinsically a slow process. By contrast, price decontrol is straightforward, and in most severe cases, decontrol may remonetise transac...