Ten days have passed since the unity government was set a 30 day deadline to implement the Global Political Agreement (GPA), and there is still no sign of any movement towards meeting this deadline.

Regional leaders in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) resolved earlier this month to give Zimbabwe's troubled coalition more time to implement the almost two year old GPA. The principals in the government apparently agreed on how to implement 24 of the outstanding 27 issues that have been in dispute. These include; the process of the land audit, the appointment of the board of the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe and the Mass Media Trust and issues of 'external interference'.

The coalition leaders also agreed that the remaining three outstanding GPA issues, including the appointment of Roy Bennett to his position as Deputy Minister of Agriculture, would be 'resolved' in the coming month. MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa told SW Radio Africa that the 30 day countdown started on the same day it was set by the SADC Troika, meaning ten days have now passed.

But during the past ten days there have only been signs that ZANU PF once again is playing by their own rules, and serious doubts are being raised that the SADC deadline will be met. Robert Mugabe, who appeared to calmly agree to the 30 day deadline, just days later said he would not make any more "concessions" to the MDC, until targeted sanctions still in place against him and his inner circle are lifted.

ZANU PF's Patrick Chinamasa then insisted that the agreed-upon appointment of governors would not happen, until the targeted sanctions were lifted.

The MDC has vehemently denied that this was agreed to at the SADC Summit, saying in a statement that it was a "misleading and mischievous" report by the state media. The party also accused ZANU PF of using "primitive tactics" to delay the implementation of the GPA and further complicate issues in the divided coalition government.

The MDC also insisted that the targeted sanctions issue was between ZANU PF and the countries that have enforced the measures, saying that "the authorship of restrictive measures is located on the doorstep of ZANU PF." But this position is obviously not shared by ZANU PF, who are once again using the sanctions issue as a trump card, to ensure there is no meaningful change that will see them lose their grip on power.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi demonstrated this on Monday when he clashed with foreign diplomats over the sanctions issue. He echoed Mugabe's sentiments that there will be no GPA implementation until the targeted sanctions are dropped. Mumbengegwi was addressing foreign ambassadors on the outcome of the SADC summit. But what began as a normal briefing ended with Mumbengegwi shouting at German Ambassador Albrecht Conze, who rightly said sanctions were only targeted at a few people.

In reply Mumbengegwi loudly challenged Conze, accusing the European Union and its allies of imposing the sanctions directly on Zimbabwe. Mumbengegwi then added that Zimbabwe's unity deal will only be implemented once all the sanctions are removed.

So what can Zimbabweans expect over the next 20 days? SADC has not said anything about how they will deal with the unity government if it doesn't stick to the deadline. Dewa Mavhinga from the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said this was a major challenge threatening SADC's ability to effectively deal with Zimbabwe's political crisis.

"This is the problem with SADC's rulings and decisions, in that they are not backed up by clear prescription on what action will be taken in the then event of non-compliance," Mavhinga told SW Radio Africa.

Mavhinga added that SADC should have put into writing how to deal with the government, if its does not meet the 30 day deadline, but conceded it was unlikely the regional leaders will take any action.

"We would like to see SADC admitting that they cannot resolve this issue, because they can't just sit on the problem and expect it to go away," Mavhinga said.

Commentator Trevor Maisiri, the co-founder of the think-tank African Reform Institute, told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that the GPA is now nothing more than "water under the bridge." He said that the parties are more focused on preparing for upcoming elections, warning that "no one wants to lose their grip on power when elections are so close.

"In the next 20 days we are going to see more strategising, more politicking, more rhetoric, more propaganda," Mairsiri said. "The next 20 days will be days of contention."

Maisiri warned that the MDC must not wait for ZANU PF to give-in and start implementing the GPA, saying Morgan Tsvangirai's party will be "surrendering the destiny of the unity government into the hands of ZANU PF," if they do so. Maisiri said the MDC must make the people their primary concern and urged the party to start engaging "internally" ahead of elections

"The party needs a critical balance of its internal as well as its external mobilisation for support on issues that have much to do with Zimbabweans," Maisiri said. "They should also engage with civil society, the churches, even SADC, to ensure there is safety ahead of elections."