President Jacob Zuma's Zimbabwe facilitators remain convinced that Zanu-PF will stick to its agreements in the unity government, despite the weekend Zanu-PF congress resolution that the party would make no more concessions to its opponents.

Lindiwe Zulu, Zuma's foreign policy adviser who serves on the Presidency's Zimbabwe facilitation team with former cabinet ministers Mac Maharaj and Charles Nqakula, said yesterday that the congress resolution was cause for concern.

Nevertheless, she said she remained optimistic, based on the facilitation team's experience with Zanu-PF negotiations.

"We truly believe that Zanu-PF signed up to agreements and has to stick to those agreements," she added.

These included the Global Political Agreement (GPA) setting up the framework for the unity government, signed by Zanu-PF and the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change in September last year.

The resolution passed by the Zanu-PF congress said: "The party has resolved not to comply with any further demands from the MDC formations until the MDC succeeds in stopping illegal radio broadcasts into the country and in having the sanctions against Zimbabwe removed."

Zanu-PF said Mugabe would not move on the issue of provincial governors, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe or the attorney-general. It said these appointments had been made in compliance with the constitution before the inclusive government had been established.

The MDC has demanded that these positions be redistributed among all three parties in the unity government. The Southern African Development Community supported this demand at its summit on January 27.

At a summit on November 5, the SADC reiterated - in the face of Zanu-PF denials - that the January 27 decision remained valid.

The MDC has emphasised it has no control over the broadcasts or the sanctions. Many observers believe the Zanu-PF congress resolution is designed to scupper the negotiations.

Zulu said that when she and the rest of the South African facilitation team had met the negotiators of the three parties last week and the week before that, they had agreed on 27 items that needed to be dealt with in the continuing negotiations.

"And they have already agreed to some of those items. They will be held accountable for what they have agreed to," she said.

"From our engagement with the negotiators I can only say we are not worried (about the Zanu-PF congress resolution) because we have had co-operation from them. They have also told us they are continuing to negotiate among themselves.

"We have not been wishy-washy with them. We have been very straight in telling them it's important they respect the GPA and every other agreement they have signed."

She would not say what the Zimbabwean negotiators had agreed to because it was up to them to announce these developments.

By IOL