Renewed efforts to save Zim's unity govt

Monday, November 30, 2009

Pretoria - A team of South African mediators arrived in Zimbabwe on Sunday to facilitate talks in that country's power-sharing agreement.

The team is being led by former Defence Minister and current advisor to President Jacob Zuma Charles Nqakula and includes Mac Maharaj and international relations advisor Lindiwe Zulu.

According to Department of International Relations and Cooperation spokesperson, Thembela Ngculu, President Zuma is likely to join the delegation on Tuesday. He is the chief mediator as appointed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

South Africa, under former President Thabo Mbeki, assisted in getting Zimbabwe's political parties to reach the power-sharing agreement in September last year.

However, the agreement has stalled over the appointment of several people and disagreements on how the government should be constituted.

President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai are expected to participate in the talks.

Zuma said on Sunday during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Trinidad and Tobago that it was imperative that the agreement was fully implemented.