Zimbabwe's state media blamed the opposition on Saturday for the deadlock over a power-sharing deal and called on President Robert Mugabe to go ahead and appoint his new cabinet.

"We urge President Mugabe to exercise his constitutional prerogative by appointing cabinet as soon as possible," the state-owned Herald daily said as regional leaders gathered for a crisis summit in South Africa.

"We have wasted too much time as it is."

Regional leaders aim on Sunday to put pressure on Mugabe and rival Morgan Tsvangirai to resolve their differences and form a unity government in line with a 15 September power-sharing agreement.

The formation of an inclusive government between Mugabe's Zanu-PF, Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and a breakaway faction of the MDC has been delayed by bickering over the allocation of key cabinet ministries.

The Herald blamed the stalemate on the MDC, accusing the opposition party of making endless demands that were stalling further progress.

Halting talks?

"Regrettably, the MDC-T (Tsvangirai) leadership, whose prevarication stalled previous rounds, is singing a different tune that appears designed to scupper tomorrow's talks," The Herald said.

The paper suggested the parties should share control of the home affairs ministry — one of the most contentious portfolios due to its control of the police and security apparatus.

"Since the parties do not trust each other over home affairs, we believe Zanu-PF's proposal, endorsed by the (regional Southern African Development Community) troika, to co-share the ministry is the best way forward," said the newspaper.

The MDC has accused Mugabe of allocating all key ministries to his party.

Southern African leaders need to get tough with President Robert Mugabe or ask the United Nations to step in, Human Rights Watch said Saturday ahead of a crunch summit on Zimbabwe's crisis.

A new 47-page report accuses Mugabe's Zanu-PF party of using Zimbabwe's police and judicial system against the opposition and civil society despite a unity accord signed in September.

The New York-based body estimates that 163 people have been killed in political violence since the country's disputed March elections, which saw Mugabe lose his majority in parliament for the first time since independence.