Former South African President Thabo Mbeki will visit Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, later today, to try to prevent the collapse of power-sharing talks between the southern African nation's political parties.
The trip follows a warning from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) that it may withdraw from negotiations after President Robert Mugabe allocated all the security ministries to his Zanu-PF party.
"We are expecting Mr. Mbeki late this afternoon,'' MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said in a telephone interview from Harare.
"Mr. Mbeki will resume his role as facilitator in the talks because we are at deadlock, more so after Mugabe's arrogrant decision to publish a wishlist of ministries that is unacceptable to the MDC.''
The state-owned South African Press Association today cited Mr Mbeki's spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga
as saying both Zanu-PF and the MDC had invited the former leader, who stepped down last month, back to Harare.
Mr Mbeki was asked to resume mediating talks by "all the parties in Zimbabwe plus the Southern African Development Community,'' Mr Ratshitanga told the news agency.
Mr Mugabe gave his Zanu-PF party control of security ministries including the defense department and the home affairs office, which controls Zimbabwe's police force last Friday.
The MDC said the decision was an "arrogant and unilateral'' move that could derail talks completely."
Bloomberg