ZIMBABWE — Talks on forming a Zimbabwean cabinet hit deadlock on Thursday with political parties still fighting over who should control 10 ministries, but negotiations will resume on Friday, the opposition said.

 

"We have reached a deadlock over the issue of the allocation of ministries. We have referred the matter to the facilitator," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said, referring to former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating.

 

"Tomorrow the process will continue," he told reporters after the end of a third day of talks aimed at rescuing a power-sharing deal which analysts say is Zimbabwe's best hope for ending a devastating economic crisis.

 

President Robert Mugabe and heads of the Movement for Democratic Change's two factions, including its main leader Morgan Tsvangirai, resumed talks on Thursday to try to resolve a dispute over cabinet posts threatening the power-sharing deal signed on September 15.

 

The talks have stalled over the allocation of powerful ministries. Chamisa said 10 ministries, including two crucial ones -- home affairs and defence -- were still in dispute. Tsvangirai left the talks venue without speaking to reporters.

 

A senior government source said earlier the parties had agreed the MDC would control the finance ministry, which is crucial for reviving Zimbabwe's ruined economy and attracting foreign investment.

 

"I understand the Ministry of Finance has been settled in favour of the MDC, but that proposals on how to handle the Ministry of Home Affairs are still being discussed behind closed doors. We have no details on that," the source said.

 

A Western diplomat also said Mugabe had agreed to the MDC controlling the finance ministry. "What they are still going hammer and tongs at is the ministry of home affairs," he said.

 

Tsvangirai threatened to pull out of the power-sharing agreement on Sunday after Mugabe allocated key ministries, including defence, home affairs -- which oversees the police -- and finance, to his ZANU-PF party.

 

Mugabe's party lost its majority for the first time since independence from Britain in 1980 after a March 29 election.The parties are under pressure to reach a settlement and international donors have pledged to pump money into the once prosperous southern African nation if a democratic government is formed and economic reforms implemented.

 

A new government will have to tackle the world's highest inflation rate of 231 million percent and severe food, fuel and foreign currency shortages.

 

 

 

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