Harare/Johannesburg - Hopes for an end to Zimbabwe's drawn- out political crisis were dashed again Monday when the pro-democracy Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) dismissed reports that talks to settle the details of a power-sharing agreement signed with President Robert Mugabe three weeks ago were to resume immediately. The state-controlled daily Herald said Monday that negotiating teams from Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC and a splinter faction of the MDC were to meet later in the day to attempt to iron out a wrangle over the share of cabinet portfolios between the three parties.
The issue was due to have been finalized a few days after the September 15 signing of the agreement on a power-sharing transitional government, but three sets of meetings between the leaders of the three groups have ended in deadlock.