JOHANNESBURG : An Interim Step

Agreement on the first step toward a new constitution--an interim government--is expected to emerge this weekend from the second major session of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA), the negotiating forum that is plotting the country’s future.

The meeting follows five months of difficult, closed-door talks among the government, the African National Congress and 19 other political organizations in the country.

Although full agreement has not yet been reached, CODESA is likely to approve an interim government that features a collection of multi-racial councils to advise the white-minority government until national elections can be held, perhaps later this year, for a constitution-making body.