African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma on Thursday urged regional leaders to pressure Zimbabwe's squabbling leaders to resolve a ruinous political and economic crisis.

"The region remains seized by the conflict in Zimbabwe. The political impasse and the economic meltdown have been joined by the health crisis," Zuma told journalists, amid fears that the toll from a cholera epidemic could touch 400.

Zuma said the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) regional bloc "must work to ensure the impasse is resolved".

"It's critical that political leaders act decisively to address the needs of the people," added Zuma.

Zimbabwean political parties signed a power-sharing accord two months ago but the formation of a new government has been delayed by a disagreement over the distribution of key ministries.

President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF and opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai have been at loggerheads over the ministry of home affairs which controls the police.

"The plight and suffering of Zimbabweans is no longer an internal matter it is now a global matter, it is affecting the region," said Zuma.

"Leaders must work to implement the deal, the more you delay the more you push Zimbabwe to the worse," he added.

MDC leader Tsvangirai's accusation

The latest round of Zimbabwe talks were suspended on Wednesday after Tsvangirai accused mediator Thabo Mbeki, South Africa's last president, of not fully understanding the situation in Zimbabwe.

"Mbeki did a very good job which led to the signing of the deal, so the failure for the Zimbabweans to reach an agreement should not be pinned on him, Sadc has met a number of times to try and make the deal work," said Zuma.

The explosion of cholera is the latest sign of the collapse of the country which was regarded as a post-colonial success story in the first two decades after independence from Britain in 1980 but is now burdened by the world's highest rate of inflation — last put at 231-million percent.

The nation's dilapidated infrastructure has left sewage flowing openly in the streets, while drinking water goes untreated.

The disease has spread to neighbouring South Africa, where six people, including two nationals, have died of cholera after returning from Zimbabwe over the last week.

AFP