Harare - Zimbabwe's state-run Herald newspaper on Saturday blamed the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Morgan Tsvangirai for the stalemate in negotiations for a power-sharing deal and called on President Robert Mugabe to go ahead and appoint a new cabinet.

Tsvangirai and Mugabe signed a power-sharing deal in mid-September but have failed to agree on the distribution of ministries. The MDC accuses Mugabe of grabbing all the key portfolios such as home affairs, finance, foreign affairs, information, local government and justice.

"We urge President Mugabe to exercise his constitutional prerogative by appointing cabinet as soon as possible. We have wasted too much time as it is," the Herald daily said ahead of regional summit in South Africa on Sunday aimed at breaking the impasse.

Leaders from the 15-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) are expected to put pressure on Mugabe and Tsvangirai to form a government of national unity in keeping with the September 15 agreement.

The newspaper paper said the proposal by Mugabe's Zanu-PF of shared control over the home affairs ministry which controls police, immigration and the voter registration, was the "best way forward." (dpa)