Life in Mugabe's Zimbabwe

BBC Radio 4's Crossing Continents brings you six personal stories about life inside President Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe.

Chenjurai Hove: Poet "They want people who are yes-men." Jenni Williams: NGO worker "There are now one million orphans." Alexander Kanengoni: Writer and farmer "Mugabe is guided by his beliefs."

Beatrice Mtetwa: Lawyer "There will be nobody to feed the poor." George Shire: Academic "NGOs must assist not intervene." Roy Bennett Imprisoned MP "The people have had enough."

George Shire, academic

George Shire is a London-based Zimbabwean academic who is close to Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF Party.

As Crossing Continents was refused government interviews or statements, the programme spoke to George Shire and found he was very supportive of the NGO (non-governmental organisation) bill.

"The bill the government is introducing is not going to throw NGOs out.

"This bill establishes the relationship between NGOs and the state. Now, if the function of NGOs is to assist people, then they will be able to continue to do so.

"They are not being excluded from working because they receive foreign funding, they will only be excluded from Zimbabwe if they work outside their remit.

You have to go back to those keywords: assistance or intervention George Shire

"So the key word is "assist". NGOs must come clean and say why it is that they want to move away from their duty to assist into this very problematic realm of intervention.

"The argument I am using is this: You have to go back to those keywords - assistance or intervention.

"NGOs must assist, not intervene in the working of a country. It is not the function of non-governmental organisations to intervene in the working of a country where they are only accountable to their funders and not to the people."