Harare — IT was perhaps unpatriotic but I have to confess that in the past, I never used to find state-of-the-nation addresses and other presentations such as annual budgets that give an overview of how the nation is faring, gripping.

My view was that whether or not I understood the issues covered did not have an immediate direct bearing on me as long as those responsible for running the country knew how to take care of things. The only issues that most ordinary Zimbabweans like me took a direct interest in pertained to income tax because that affected our earning power. But it was never a matter of economic life or death as it is now because then, with patience and careful budgeting, one could achieve certain goals.

Not any more. With most facets of life no longer certain and predictable under the prevailing untenable economic atmosphere, one can simply not win, even with the patience of Job and the cunning of a fox.

As I listened to President Robert Mugabe's state-of-the-nation address on Tuesday, I felt strongly that the true determinant of the state of a nation is the extent to which ordinary people -- the masses -- are able to access essential commodities and services as well as undertake routine tasks, freely and unobtrusively without any hassles. True, all the other high-sounding aspects such as tourism, trade, bilateral relations and solidarity with other countries go into the brew that represents the sum total of a nation but for whose benefit are these if they are not means to guarantee the dignity and intrinsic value of the individual as well as safeguard his or her inalienable rights? As one writer has put it, "The state, the union and the corporation are measured in terms of their usefulness to the individual."

From the points raised in the President's speech, it is clear many state institutions and parastatals now exist for existence's sake, they no longer serve to make it possible for ordinary people to pursue happiness and a better quality of life. On the day of the state-of-the-nation address, I fumbled in the dark to get ready for the day because there was no electricity in my residential area. I needed to get into town very early to queue up at the bank in the hope of withdrawing some cash. I left empty-handed and listened to His Excellency's oration in town on an empty stomach. I had no cash to even contemplate the gruelling hunt for something to eat for lunch. What state is this nation in when it is now the norm for shops to stock no food and banks to have no money?

The President said about the widespread electricity problems: "The country this year experienced unprecedented disruptions in power and fuel supplies, largely due to shortages of foreign currency and on account of the projected regional power deficit." But whatever the official explanation is, the nation cannot be faring well when urban residents have to revert to a rural way of life, which requires them to gather firewood, dig wells to draw water and spend long hours in queues hunting for food. Democracy, as an American congressman once said, "is liberty plus groceries". The reality in this nation is that most people can no longer afford three square meals a day and some regularly go to bed hungry. Those who can access food cannot always cook it because residential areas can go for months without electricity or water or both.

The National Incomes and Pricing Commission has not brought any relief to the consumer. If the truth be told, it has made things far more difficult than they were before the Cabinet Task Force on Price Monitoring and Stabilisation ordered an arbitrary reduction of prices in July. Since then, locally produced essential goods have been rarer than gold. The prices of essentials imported under the Basic Commodities Supply Side Intervention Facility are out of reach for the ordinary Zimbabwean who is either unemployed (the majority) or earns a salary far below the poverty datum line and the inflation rate.

For Zimbabweans not to be assured of a dependable and safe supply of something as basic as water is another indication of the true state this nation is in. "The problem of limited water supplies continues to haunt several of our urban areas as teething problems associated with the transfer of bulk water supply to ZINWA persist", the President said. "As part of measures to redress the situation, government will drill boreholes in the affected areas so as to augment existing water supplies."

First of all, an institution that takes as long as ZINWA is doing to find its feet will always be a toothless bulldog and therefore redundant. The transfer of water supply jurisdiction from municipalities is not only incomprehensible on account of ZINWA's ineptitude but because all it has done so far is to destroy the capacity local authorities had to operate a service that although not perfect, at least guaranteed consumers water availability most of the time. The reverse is true since the parastatal took charge and it will be a mammoth task for the government to drill enough boreholes because there are water problems in every urban centre.

The head of state referred to challenges pertaining to fuel shortages, agricultural productivity, service delivery, and corruption, which have made life unbearable for the ordinary person. The President called on Zimbabweans to shun the "get-rich quick mentality," which is a misnomer, in my opinion, because some people in government have been getting filthy reach for the last 27 years. Against this background, ordinary Zimbabweans can no longer access affordable health care and cannot give their children a quality education. His Excellency referred to the brain drain, which is one more symptom of all not being well in this nation or else citizens would not be deserting it in such unprecedented numbers.

In his opening remarks the President said the state-of-the-nation address was an opportunity to "reflect on our achievements in the year now drawing to a close" but there were very few tangible achievements cited. Indeed, if the year had been a success and the nation was in robust health, there would have been no need for the President to "thank our people for their stoic resilience in the face of these challenges."