Harare — The technical committee of the Tripartite Negotiating Forum has finished reviewing agreements that the social partners had signed previously and has compiled a report which now awaits the main body to meet and consider, an official said on Wednesday.

Labour and Social Services permanent secretary Lancester Museka said the main TNF was supposed to meet two weeks ago but pressing commitments of some members prevented it from doing so.

"We have made a number of recommendations and we have compiled a report which we will table before the main TNF to consider," he said. Museka said convening the main TNF was proving difficult as it involved thirteen ministers whose work schedules were always tight.

When the country started experiencing economic decline in 2000, Government, business and labour established the TNF to brainstorm on solutions to arrest the slide.

The social partners agreed on a number of issues to guide their interaction, chief among them the Kadoma Declaration of 2001, which was premised on the need to address the totality of the macro-economic challenges facing the country, including the country risk factor.

Essentially, the declaration identified the causes of the country risk factor and specific remedial actions that each social partner should undertake.

According to the declaration, implementation of the specific tasks by the social partners would aid in reducing the country risk factor and improve the image of the country.

Implementation of the declaration was expected to engender the necessary impetus to tackle other critical issues and cultivate a sense of common purpose among social partners.

However, mistrust between the partners, under the intensity of the social, economic and political situation in the country saw the TNF floundering and all agreements that they had reached not being implemented.

Following formation of the inclusive Government, the social partners resumed their engagement and in September last year launched the revised Kadoma Declaration.

The TNF also tasked its technical committee to revisit all the Protocols that it had signed to ascertain their relevance in the new dispensation and recommend the way forward.

Museka said the technical committee had since found that events had overtaken most of the Protocols since they were meant for a hyperinflationary environment.

He said some of the recommendations the technical committee had made included establishment of a secretariat d for the TNF as well as legislating the body as was the case with the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) in South Africa.