South Africa says Zimbabwe talks to resume

HARARE (Reuters) - South Africa said Zimbabwean power-sharing talks would resume on Friday although President Robert Mugabe's top negotiator said there was no need for further negotiations.

Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have failed to reach agreement in over one month of talks that followed Mugabe's unopposed re-election in a ballot boycotted by Tsvangirai and condemned around the world.

In a sign of the growing desperation in Zimbabwe, Mugabe's government lifted a ban on aid groups providing food and humanitarian assistance. They were banned ahead of the election, accused by Mugabe of helping the opposition.

All parties would participate in the negotiations in South Africa and no deadline for an end to the talks was set, said South Africa's deputy minister of foreign affairs Aziz Pahad.

"We do hope that these talks can lead to the finalization of all outstanding matters, so that we can start with normalizing the economic, political and social situation in Zimbabwe," he said.

A South African foreign ministry official declined comment on whether the talks had resumed. An MDC official said he did not know.

Zimbabwe's state-owned Herald newspaper earlier quoted Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, chief ZANU-PF negotiator, as saying: "There was no need for more talks since there was a deal already on the table that was waiting to be signed."

But Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change said it would not sign the deal in its current form, although it remained committed to talks.

"ZANU-PF has dug a hole for itself. It is a tragedy that they want to continue to dig," said spokesman Nelson Chamisa."

DEFIANT MUGABE

Mugabe, who reopened parliament this week in defiance of opposition objections, has said he would soon form a new government without the main opposition MDC. Chamisa said it would not cooperate with Mugabe until talks are concluded.

Tsvangirai believes the impasse could be broken if a transitional authority governs for up to two years, followed by fresh elections and a "people-driven" constitution, the party said in a statement.

Tsvangirai boycotted an election run-off in June because of attacks on his supporters, even though he won the first round.

Regional heads of state in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which mandated South African President Thabo Mbeki to mediate in the Zimbabwe talks, have so far failed to push the parties into a deal.

The breakaway, smaller MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara is also part of the negotiations. It has taken a softer line than Tsvangirai's camp and analysts say it has moved closer to Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980.

The economic price of the deadlock is rising by the day.

Severe food, fuel and foreign currency shortages are worsening. The hardships -- inflation of over 11 million percent is the world's highest -- have already driven millions of Zimbabweans to neighboring countries, straining regional economies.

Zimbabwe's government has lifted a ban on non-governmental organizations involved in providing food and humanitarian assistance, state radio said. Mugabe, whose government ordered NGOs to stop work on June 4, had accused foreign aid agencies of using food as a weapon to try to remove him from power.

(Additional reporting by Wendell Roelf in Cape Town; writing by Michael Georgy; editing by Matthew Tostevin)