The commercial laws appear fair and encourage competition. The absence of the rule of law and legal procedures by the government encourage arbitrary application of regulations and rules. The government issued a decree legalizing private ownership of land in January 1994. However, it refers specifically to land under a small business in the trade and service sectors. In other words, if an individual purchases a small business, he can also buy the plot of land on which it stands.
Agriculture is in the infant stages of privatization.
Under the plan, collective farms are being reorganized into cooperatives through leasing the land to former collective farm workers, either on an individual or a group basis. Each family unit receives a private plot, the produce from which it may sell at local markets. State farms are being converted to collective farms. Several laws address property and leaseholding. A presidential decree in March 1994 opened the way for limited private housing construction.