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An official of the smaller MDC wing led by Mutambara said Sunday that negotiators from the three parties would compile a report for submission to their leaders after the forthcoming round of talks.

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Harare - Talks to resolve outstanding issues from Zimbabwe’s power-sharing agreement resume Monday amid hopes that rival political parties would finally find a common ground and end a long-running dispute over appointment of key government officials.

Negotiators from President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF and rival factions of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Premier Arthur Mutambara are expected to convene in Harare on February 8 to iron out differences over sticking Global Political Agreement (GPA) issues.

An official of the smaller MDC wing led by Mutambara said Sunday that negotiators from the three parties would compile a report for submission to their leaders after the forthcoming round of talks.

“The outcome of the talks will obviously depend on how much the parties are willing to bend backwards. If no one is willing to make concessions then it will be another stalemate,” the official told APA.

The talks are expected to finalise all outstanding issues that have threatened to derail the country’s fragile power-sharing government formed last February by the three parties.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is mediating in the political dispute between the MDC and ZANU PF but the regional leaders have so far failed to push the Zimbabwean parties to fully implement terms of a power-sharing pact they signed in 2008.

The unresolved issues include travel restrictions imposed on more than 200 ZANU PF officials by Western countries, the swearing in of MDC treasurer Roy Bennett as deputy agriculture minister and disputed appointments of provincial governors, attorney general and central bank governor.

Also outstanding are issues concerning the review of ministerial allocations, parallel government structures, conferment of national hero status, the chairing of the cabinet and cabinet rules.

ZANU PF instructed its negotiators last month that they should not make further concessions until the MDC formations first push for the removal of travel restrictions and an asset freeze imposed on its top officials by the West.

The MDC says it was not responsible for the imposition of the targeted sanctions in 2002 and insists ZANU PF should first implement commitment it made in the GPA, including agreeing to wide-ranging political and media reforms.

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