Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, facing a regional meeting to discuss the political impasse in his country, plans to form a government excluding opponents because his allies fear investigations into human rights abuses, said two members of the ruling party’s decision-making body.

The 15-member Southern African Development Community will meet in the South African capital, Pretoria, on Jan. 26 to try to resolve Zimbabwe’s political crisis. The country has been in limbo since Mugabe and Tsvangirai failed to implement a Sept. 15 accord on power sharing amid disagreement over the allocation of ministerial posts.

The MDC is also split on whether to continue talks with Mugabe about participating in a unity government because of continuing attacks on its supporters, said a member of the MDC’s national executive. The two officials from the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front’s politburo and the MDC official declined to be identified because they don’t have permission to speak to the media on the talks.

“There are outstanding issues like the allocation of ministries, senior officials in government and abductees that have to be resolved before the MDC joins government,” Tsvangirai said by phone from the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, today. “We are hopeful that the SADC leaders will be objective and if they are, we should be able to resolve the issues.”

Talks last week, mediated by South Africa’s President Kgalema Motlanthe and Mozambican leader Armando Guebuza, ended in deadlock.

Decade of Recession

Zimbabwe, ruled by Mugabe since 1980, has experienced a decade of economic recession, with an estimated 5.8 million people in need of food aid by March, according to the United Nations. The country’s health, sewage and water systems have collapsed, exacerbating a cholera outbreak that has killed 2,773 people and infected more than 50,000, according to the UN.

Officials in Mugabe’s party fear prosecution for human rights abuses committed during the past 10 years, the politburo members said. In addition, they are concerned that their private businesses may be threatened if a joint government is formed.

In 2000, Mugabe began a program of land reform in which white-owned commercial farms were seized. Some of those farms are now owned by government officials. Observers including missions from the European Union said that elections held since then have been tainted by violence and electoral irregularities.

Mugabe is also worried that if SADC fails to help resolve the Zimbabwean crisis at next week’s summit, the group will push for African Union involvement, the politburo members said. The 84-year-old leader would reject AU interference and blame the MDC for refusing to participate in the government.

Some officials in the MDC believe it is a mistake to share power with Zanu-PF, the MDC national executive committee member said. Continued abductions of party officials and human rights activists have hardened attitudes in the party. Others in the party think Mugabe will find it impossible to rule without the MDC because of the country’s economic crisis, the official said.

Mugabe and his closest allies are subject to European Union and U.S. sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Latham via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.