Prime Minister Dr. Mwigulu Nchemba has ordered the arrest and passport seizure of a foreign contractor accused of abandoning the long-delayed construction of the Muhalala One-Stop Border Post in Singida Region, insisting that Tanzania will no longer tolerate neglect of strategic national projects.
Dr. Mwigulu issued the directive on Friday, November 21, 2025, during an inspection visit to the project site, where construction has been stalled for more than eight years.
The facility, awarded to Impresa di Costruzioni Ing. E. Mantovani S.p.A, was expected to be completed in 2018 after work began in 2016.
The Prime Minister expressed deep frustration over the contractor’s persistent failure to deliver despite multiple interventions by the government to resolve challenges.
He said the company had already been declared bankrupt and ordered to compensate Tanzania, yet had continued to disregard government directives.
“We trusted this contractor with a strategic project, but he has chosen to treat the country with open disrespect,” Dr. Mwigulu said.
“I am directing the Immigration Commissioner to seize his passport so he does not leave the country until this matter is resolved. Police should find him wherever he is. We hired him, we paid him, yet he unilaterally decides whether to work or not. This is criminal behaviour.”he added
He stressed that foreign contractors operating in Tanzania must recognise that they serve the Tanzanian people and are not above the law.
Dr. Mwigulu gave project partners one month to decide whether the contractor can proceed. If not, the Ministry of Works has been instructed to immediately reassign the project to local contractors.
“This country is ours, and we have a duty to protect it,” he said. “President Samia has been clear: there are no special favours. We have only one mother, and that mother is Tanzania.”
The Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Works to strengthen oversight to ensure the project is delivered, noting that the government is ready to hand the work to capable local contractors if necessary. He assured the public that the much-delayed border post will be completed.
In a separate instruction, Dr. Mwigulu tasked the Minister for Works, Abdallah Ulega, with ensuring that all contractors verify that their work reflects the value of the funds disbursed.
He reaffirmed President Samia’s position that every public project must guarantee value for money and warned that misuse of national resources will not be tolerated.
Dr. Mwigulu also encouraged Tanzanian youth to safeguard the country’s peace as development efforts continue.
“God has blessed us with a beautiful nation. It does not belong to leaders or political parties; it belongs to all of us,” he said.
Minister Ulega described the Muhalala One-Stop Border Post as a flagship project with major economic potential, including reducing road maintenance costs and opening new business opportunities for the community.
He said the ministry is ready to advance construction and restore the project’s intended benefits.