PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma has promised to phone Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in a bid to improve relations between Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma has promised to phone Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in a bid to improve relations between Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai has accused Mugabe of frustrating efforts to implement reforms outlined in the multiparty coalition agreement that formed a government of national unity in that country.

Zuma met Tsvangirai at the ANC headquarters, Luthuli House, yesterday where the prime minister complained about the coalition made up of Zanu-PF, the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change - one led by Tsvangirai and that of deputy prime minister Arthur Mutambara.

"The prime minister has briefed me that the majority of issues are moving forward except for a few issues," said Zuma. "I have said I will be contacting President Mugabe, Mutambara and other leaders in the region."

As chairperson of the Southern African Development Community, Zuma said former president Thabo Mbeki, the SADC-appointed mediator in Zimbabwe, was confident Zimbabwe'schallenges were not insurmountable.