After three years of political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe, the end of Robert Mugabe's rule is in sight.

Three African leaders including South African President Thabo Mbeki are to fly to Harare on Monday to persuade Mugabe, who has been hinting at possible retirement, to take the plunge.

There is now hope for an interim political settlement in Zimbabwe which would see the retirement of Mugabe, the creation of a transitional government headed by his Zanu-PF party and a programme of economic reconstruction heavily supported by South Africa.

If African leaders are successful in persuading Mugabe to bow out with dignity, the proposed presidential election in 2008 could be brought forward to coincide with scheduled parliamentary elections in 2005.

There is now hope for an interim political settlement in Zimbabwe

It is unclear whether Mugabe will stay on as a largely ceremonial president while a younger man takes over running Zanu-PF.

The current favourite of a growing faction within the ruling Zanu-PF, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and among African mediators is Mugabe's former finance minister Simba Makoni.

Mugabe fired him last year after a row over the devaluation of the Zimbabwean currency.

Makoni, who has praised Mbeki's handling of the crisis in Zimbabwe and met him towards the end of last year, is seen, together with MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, as the only contender for the leadership who would be able to raise loans for Zimbabwe from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Mbeki's visit to Harare on Monday is expected to re-start the long-stalled dialogue between Zanu-PF and the MDC.

Mbeki, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, as the next chair of the Commonwealth, and Malawian President Bekili Muluzi, as chair of the Southern African Development Community task team on Zimbabwe, will present Mugabe with a formidable display of African unity.

The troika will urge the beleaguered Zimbabwean president to step down and allow a renewal of the ruling party's leadership and the inclusion of the MDC in a transitional government.

The latest prospect for a political settlement in Zimbabwe follows renewed hints by Mugabe last weekend that he is considering retirement, new concessions by the opposition and growing dissent within Zanu-PF as to who Mugabe's successor will be.