Zimbabwean impasse adds to southern African concerns

Reports from Harare suggest the lMF has given a degree of approval to Zimbabwe's economic policies after months of tensions. But question marks remain over a key bone of contention with donors - two major thermal power projects: the proposed $1.5bn independent power plant at Gokwe North and the controversial Hwange thermal power station. The Zimbabwean situation has been exacerbated by concern over President Robert Mugabe's regional policy - focused on an unpopular military intervention to support the beleaguered President Laurent Desire Kabila in Democratic Republic of Congo and the thorny issue of land reform.