THE feuding parties in the unity government have still not scheduled meetings to resume negotiations to conclude the outstanding issues in their power-sharing agreement despite pressure from South Africa to resolve their disputes by December 5.

As a result of the inaction by the Zimbabwean parties, South African President Jacob Zuma has now rescheduled his visit to a date after December 5.

Zuma was early this month mandated to ensure that President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara (pictured) fully implemented the deal that saw them form a unity government in February.

Zanu PF and the two MDC formations have already missed a 15-day deadline by the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) to start negotiations on the disagreements threatening to tear apart the unity government.

On Friday, the parties were blaming each other for the delays with MDC-T issuing a scathing attack on MDC and Zanu PF, calling them "mischievous and insincere" for delaying the resumption of talks.

The talks were put on hold last week because MDC negotiators Welshman Ncube and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga were out of the country on government business.

Ncube and Misihairabwi-Mushonga returned on Thursday but the negotiators yesterday said they still had not agreed on dates for the negotiations on a number of thorny disputes impeding the work of the unity government.

MDC-T secretary general Tendai Biti and Nicholas Goche of Zanu PF yesterday said they did not know when they will meet as they were still to consult with other negotiators.

A source said a meeting scheduled for tomorrow had been cancelled without any explanation.

But despite the parties missing the Friday deadline to start the talks, South Africa, which is monitoring progress, insisted that the month-end deadline to conclude the dialogue must be met.

"We are trying to follow very closely what is going on with the understanding that come the 5th of December or so, there would have to be some sort of significant reassessment and there is discussion currently within the South African government on the approach that we would take and follow this process through," the director-general of the South African department of International Relations and Co-operation, Ayanda Ntsaluba told a media briefing.

Only a South African ministerial team led by Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies will now visit Zimbabwe on Friday this week (November 27) for the signing of the long awaited Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement.

Davies will be accompanied by a business delegation and the Zimbabwean talks would not be on the agenda.

However, the harsh exchange of words between MDC-T and MDC indicated widening divisions between the coalition partners who are now in danger of missing the Sadc deadline to conclude the talks by November 30.

"The deadline set by the Sadc troika for the resolution of the outstanding issues has once again been missed because of the intransigence, mischief and insincerity exhibited by the political players who are not taking the plight of the people of Zimbabwe seriously," the MDC-T said in a statement.

The party also took an unprecedented attack on the MDC negotiators, Ncube and Misihairabwi-Mushonga accusing them of choosing to "prioritise flying to world capitals at the expense of resolving critical issues".

The MDC hit back saying, it had suggested that the "negotiators have a retreat to concentrate on the negotiations from Friday to Monday" but MDC-T negotiators were not available.

Zanu PF deputy spokesperson, Ephraim Masawi refused to comment on MDC-T allegations referring questions to Patrick Chinamasa, the party's chief negotiator, who was not immediately available for comment yesterday.