2009

So, 3 days back at work and already 2009 looks set to be another frustrating year.
So far I'm banging my head off the desk trying to communicate with my people in Zimbabwe... picking my way through the maze of red tape surrounding an African Union Summit in Ethiopia... trying to get a straight answer from the South African government about Zimbabwe crisis talks rumoured to be happening here next week... and cancelling a rare but long planned trip back to the UK because it clashes with another potential story in the diary.

The Christmas break is but a distant memory and - excited as I was at the prospect of getting back to work - I'm already getting a clear but unwelcome reminder of why i needed it so badly.

This might not be the busiest bureau in the ITN operation, but there are easier continents to cover, believe me!

Looking ahead, it seems to me the coming year should be interesting and busy but not, perhaps, as geographically varied as the 30 months I've spent here so far.
Sure, the Zimbabwe story will rumble on... but, pessimistically, that's all I fear it will do.
Elections are due here in South Africa before the end of May and for the first time the ANC's vast majority faces a challenge in the shape of it's breakaway faction, COPE.
There's also the FIFA Confederations Cup to look forward to... not normally interesting in itself, but it will be a fascinating dry run for the World Cup in 2010... cue predictable requests from newsdesks for tales of crime, chaos and disorganisation.

Elsewhere, I'd love to predict big moves in Congo, Darfur and Somalia - but unless someone comes up with a hell of a poultice, there's no stopping those weeping sores. Depressingly, I suspect the Congo/Rwanda tensions may boil over into something altogether more nasty before too long.

Still, on a happier note they've just held run-off elections in Ghana and guess what - the government lost, walked away and handed power to the opposition. Democracy in Africa. Maybe 2009 won't be so bad after all!