Harare  - South African President Jacob Zuma arrived in Zimbabwe on Thursday for his first visit since being inaugurated three months ago, amid hopes that he will get President Robert Mugabe to agree to carry out undertakings to end violent harassment of his partners in government and accept democratic reforms.

He was met at Harare international airport by Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, senior partners in the six-month-old coalition government.

Officials said Zuma would hold separate meetings with them and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, leader of the breakaway faction of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change.

Zuma is guest of honour of the power-sharing government to open the annual Harare agricultural show on Friday, but observers say far more important are the series of meetings with the three principles of the government.

The government is under strain as Tsvangirai accuses the 85-year- old Mugabe of failing to honour obligations he signed up to in September last year in the agreement between the three leaders.

MDC officials say Mugabe appears to be intent on continuing to run the country as a repressive one-party state.

Earlier Thursday, Tsvangirai said they would meet with Zuma and see if some form of finality can be reached on the implementation of the agreement.

Zuma's departure for Harare was preceded by remarks by Gwede Mantashe, secretary-general of South Africa's ruling African National Congress, that Mugabe was responsible for deviant behaviour and that he expected Zuma to express vocal criticism of Mugabe.

Earlier, Zuma has already described the issues raised by Tsvangirai as very weighty. Last month Tsvangirai travelled to South Africa where he complained to to Zuma, as the chairman of the Southern African Development Community, the regional bloc that brokered the agreement last year.

He cited Mugabe's violations of the agreement, that include the unilateral appointment of cronies as central bank chief and attorney general, the constant harassment of MDC legislators and resistance to democratic reforms. (dpa)