Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe looked set to move forward and form a new government without the opposition if rival Morgan Tsvangirai did not sign a power-sharing deal on Thursday.

"If after tomorrow (Thursday), Tsvangirai does not want to sign, we will certainly put together a cabinet. We feel frozen at the moment", the Thursday edition of the state daily, The Herald, reported Mugabe as saying.

Talks between Mugabe and opposition leader Tsvangirai, who heads the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), were deadlocked in mid-August over Mugabe's desire to retain control of the country's security forces, according to the opposition.

Last ditch attempts to revive the negotiations by South African president Thabo Mbeki, who is mediating in the crisis, last week failed.

"We are a government and we are government that is empowered by elections. We should form a cabinet. We would not allow a situation where we will not have a cabinet forever," the 84-year-old said.

No new cabinet has been formed since Mugabe handed himself the presidency in a one-man, presidential run-off on 27 June.

Tsvangirai rejected a deal that would have seen security ministries reporting to Mugabe and economic and social ministries to himself, the MDC leader told South African radio on Wednesday.

Several media reported that Mbeki, who is mediating the negotiations, was expected in Zimbabwe on Thursday but his spokesperson denied the reports.

"The president is not going to Zimbabwe," Mukoni Ratshitanga said, adding however that the power-sharing talks were continuing.

MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa also said he was not aware that anything was planned for Thursday in Harare and stressed that the MDC would not react to Mugabe's apparent ultimatum.

"(Mugabe's party) Zanu-PF are trying to force us to swallow poison, we are not going to sign anything that does not put the people of Zimbabwe first," spokesperson Chamisa told AFP.

"Mr Mugabe must be prepared to give some of his powers to Mr Tsvangirai. This is the last chance for Mr Mugabe to see the light for the people of Zimbabwe as he has not shown any form of seriousness to give up some of his powers," he added.

Welshman Ncube, secretary general of a smaller MDC splinter group, dismissed allegations that the faction had signed a deal with Mugabe.

"It's not true that we signed an agreement with Zanu-PF. The global agreement must be signed by the three parties and the facilitator and this has not been done by anyone."

Regarding Mugabe's threat to form a cabinet, Ncube said: "I don't think anyone should be issuing ultimatums. What Zanu-PF is doing is totally unnecessary."

Mugabe and Tsvangirai put aside their differences briefly on Wednesday when they both attended the funeral of Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa in Lusaka.

According South African daily Business Day, Mbeki, who was also at the service, spoke with the Zimbabwean rivals there.

An earlier power-sharing deal put forward under Mbeki proposed that Tsvangirai become prime minister and Mugabe retain the presidency.

Power-sharing talks began after both sides signed a memorandum of understanding on 21 July.

Tsvangirai has repeatedly said he would not agree to any power-sharing deal that would not give him real political power.

"It's better not to have a deal than to have a bad deal," he said in a New York Times interview before the talks were suspended.