Zimbabwe’s new coalition government was on Wednesday racked by a fierce dispute, with Morgan Tsvangirai, the prime minister, accusing allies of Robert Mugabe, the president, of creating a “parallel force” within the structures of government.

Mr Tsvangirai, who heads the Movement for Democratic Change, said a decision by Zimbabwe’s senior civil servant – who works in Mr Mugabe’s office – to appoint permanent secretaries without consultation violated the constitution and the terms of the unity pact under which the government was formed two weeks ago.