Only a long-term solution will do

The two-day summit in South Africa to discuss Zimbabwe's power sharing crisis should look at long-term and practical solutions if any progress is to be achieved. Anything below that goal would be an effort wasted.

The gathering, held under the auspices of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), aims at resuming the negotiations between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, head of the Movement for Democratic Change. So far both sides have blamed each other for failure to reach an agreement. While a government official noted the situation could not continue without having a direction, the head of the opposition insisted that any success in the talks would depend on the president's "sincerity".

All parties involved have at hand a serious issue to resolve. These include critical areas that would ultimately define the future course for the country including the balance of power, the functioning of the security forces, and how to deal with the violence during the elections. Given that Zimbabwe's crisis has spilled over into neighbouring countries, it is very important that a consensus is reached.