[New Times] A partnership agreement to launch a joint venture which will see the development of Djibouti's land in Rwanda, was signed on Thursday in Kigali between the two countries.

[Daily Trust] The national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has warned the federal government against the plan to increase Value Added Tax (VAT).

[New Times] East African Community (EAC) Council of Ministers and head of the body's organs will Friday convene in Kigali to brainstorm, plan and strategize on how better the bloc can deliver on its objectives and mandate.

[The Herald] The trial of businessman Wicknell Chivayo who allegedly transferred $10 000 into former Zimbabwe Power Company chairperson Stanley Kazhanje's bank account, ostensibly to influence him not to cancel a 100MW solar project tender awarded to his company, Intratrek Zimbabwe, yesterday hit a snag after his lawyer failed to attend court as he was committed at the High Court.

[The Herald] NMB Bank founder Julius Makoni's loan dispute with his former bank is far from over as the banker-turned clergyman approached the Supreme Court challenging the High Court ruling compelling him to pay back over $1 million advanced to one of his Trusts.

[New Times] BK Group is on course to become one of the first Rwandan firms to hit the $1 billion valuation mark, which could raise investor confidence in Rwanda's largest lender by market share and profitability.

[The Herald] A Chinese company, China Nanchang Engineering, has approached Harare City Council with a deal to supply 600 green energy (solar-powered) buses and additional fixed and working capital to service routes in Greater Harare Metropolitan.

[New Times] The Government has started the processes of hiring a firm to automate the operations of Umurenge Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCO).

[The Conversation Africa] Recent power cuts and the announcement that South Africa's power utility Eskom will be receiving R23billion (about USD$1.5billion) a year in government support for the foreseeable future are symptomatic of operational and financial crises at the utility.

[Deutsche Welle] Germany has for years sought to strengthen its cooperation with Africa. This has led to a flood of concepts across various government ministries and a confusion of competencies. New guidelines are now on the table.

[This Day] Abuja -The Senate yesterday expressed deep concern over low release of the 2018 Appropriation to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), saying some of the agencies received as little as 10 per cent of the approved allocation during the period under review.

[Guardian] The Senate has said that poor implementation of the 2018 budget negatively affected the economy.The upper legislative chamber pointed out that the economic revival strategies of the Federal Government in wealth creation, poverty reduction and reduction of unemployment rate were the major victims of budget failures.

[Namibia Economist] The Dare to Care Disaster fund received a truckload of barley this week from the commodity's producer, Namibia Breweries Ltd. The barley was grown on the Breweries' Rietfontein farm in the Grootfontein district where approximately 400 hectares are cultivated for barley, producing roughly 1400 tonnes of barley per year.

[The Aspen Institute] With the hashtag, #Turkanadrought, Kenyan citizens are posting their thoughts about the ongoing drought in Turkana. Importantly, they are demanding accountability by elected political leaders and calling on the Kenyan government to take concrete action to end the cycle of repetitive droughts. By clearly calling out Kenyan elected officials and letting them know they have failed the very citizens that elected them, these citizens are doing the right thing. This is impressive and worth highlighting.

[Brookings] Ethiopia's prime minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed - the youngest African leader at 42 years old - has initiated a series of unprecedented economic and political reforms in his first 12 months in office. The core challenge that he faces is moving the economy from state-led to market-based growth while overseeing far-reaching political reforms. Success is far from guaranteed but his accomplishments so far have created an enormous sense of opportunity within the country.

[Guardian] By The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday plunged further by 0.7 per cent, extending bearish run to a third consecutive session amid sustained sell-off.

[Independent (Kampala)] Mombasa -President Yoweri Museveni will be the first visiting head of state to take the Makadara Express train on the new Standard Gauge Railway from Mombasa to Nairobi in Kenya.

[East African] East Africa's stockmarkets are no longer favourites of investors seeking to raise capital for growth and expansion.

[East African] Stanbic Holdings Ltd and DFCU Ltd have posted significant trading turnover at the Uganda Securities Exchange in the first quarter of 2019 despite the January-March low season.

[Monitor] Moyo -Farmers under Robijame Farmers' Group in Palorinya East Village, Itula Sub-county in Moyo District, are set to benefit from Shs1.8b irrigation scheme project developed by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) with support from the government of Japan.