Tanzanian president, John Maguguli orders the seizure of expatriate passports

Tanzanian President, John Magufuli on Friday ordered the confiscation of passports belonging to foreign employees of an Indian infrastructure company managing a water project that is running late.

'The president has ordered that the passport of Rajendra Kumar, should be seized along with the travel documents of his assistants until they complete the water project,' Magufuli’s office said in a statement.

The order comes after the president was angered by the lack of progress on the $13 million water project in the southern town of Lindi, which was expected to be finished in March 2015 but remains incomplete.

In the statement, the president who is also referred to as 'the Bulldozer' because of his strict policies, gave the Indian representatives of the Overseas Infrastructure Alliance & Private Limited, four months to complete the project.

'Magufuli has warned that if the project is not completed within four months, he will take more stringent measures against those supervising the construction work,'  the statement said.