Harare - President Kgalema Motlanthe will lead a delegation to Harare on Monday to resume talks aimed at forming a government of unity in Zimbabwe.
President Motlanthe, who chairs the Southern African Development Community (SADC), will be accompanied by former South African President Thabo Mbeki who was crucial in getting Zimbabwe's political parties to sign a power-sharing deal in September last year.
Mozambique's President Armando Guebuza will also form part of the delegation.
A meeting of the countries' leaders will be followed by a meeting of the negotiating teams which is expected to discuss outstanding matters related to the implementation of the Global Agreement, including the processing of Zimbabwe Constitution Amendment 19.
Both the ruling Zanu-PF and opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have told local media that the future of the power-sharing deal is hinged on these talks.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has refused to join the proposed unity government because he insists Mr Mugabe wants to retain control of key ministries, including defence and home affairs.
In yesterday's edition of the Zimbabwe Sunday Mail newspaper Mr Mugabe said the talks on Monday were a make or break occasion.
Mr Tsvangirai won a first-round presidential vote over Mr Mugabe in March 2008, when the opposition also seized a majority in Parliament for the first time since Zimbabwe's independence from Britain in 1980.
But, the opposition pulled out of a run-off in June, accusing Mr Mugabe's government of orchestrating violence which targeted his supporters. The MDC has also since lost it's majority seats in Parliament as one of its MPs have been charged with fraud.
The two parties signed a deal to form a unity government in September, but the pact has stalled despite repeated regional efforts to revive it.
The power-sharing deal called for a unity government with 84-year-old Mr Mugabe remaining as President, while Mr Tsvangirai would take the new post of prime minister.
Last week it was revealed the rival leaders had agreed to meet again to try and overcome their political differences.
Mr Tsvangirai returned to Harare from Botswana on Saturday ahead of the meeting, after spending the last two months in self-imposed exile in the neighbouring country because he believed his safety could not be guaranteed in Zimbabwe.
The political stand-off has increased the misery of ordinary Zimbabweans, as there has been no government to run the country on a day-to-day basis.
Over the last three months more than 2 000 Zimbabweans have died from the treatable disease cholera because the healthcare system has collapsed.
Last week the World Health Organisation estimated that in the worst case, six million people in Zimbabwe, or half of the total population, could contract cholera.
