South African President Thabo Mbeki yesterday said he was anxious that political rivals in neighbouring Zimbabwe start formal talks soon, adding that a programme mapping out the negotiating process had already been completed in December.

"The latest report I heard was that indeed the actual programme of handling those formal talks, a draft, had been done... In fact, it had been done by the end of December. It was disrupted by the fact that people had been on holiday," Mbeki said in an television interview with state broadcaster SABC.

"I should hope - the holidays are over now - that they will indeed meet. There was great keenness on both sides that they must start with formal negotiations," he added.

Mbeki visited Zimbabwe late last year and held meetings with both President Robert Mugabe and the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Morgan Tsvangirai.

Shortly after the trip, Mbeki announced that both parties had agreed to enter into formal talks to resolve that country's socio-economic and political woes.

Zimbabwe was plunged into crisis after presidential elections in March 2002 that returned Mugabe to power, but international observers and Tsvangirai said the results had been rigged.

MDC secretary-general Welshman Ncube told a South African newspaper yesterday that once formal dialogue had started, the process would not take too long.

"If Mbeki could succeed in persuading (the ruling) Zanu-PF to come to the negotiating table, it would not take long - maybe two months - of serious dialogue to resolve this crisis," Ncube told the Sunday Times.

Referring to that statement, Mbeki said: "I hope that they would start. If professor Ncube is right, indeed let them in two months complete this thing. I don't see why they should not". – Sapa-AFP.