Updated

Tanzania's government has ordered the expulsion of the head of the United Nations Development Program in this East African country.

Tanzania's foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday that Awa Dabo, a Gambian national, suffered "poor relations with her work colleagues and UNDP management."

The statement says the government acted "after noticing a slowed performance of the agency."

Dabo is believed to have already left the country.

Some observers in Tanzania have criticized the decision to expel Dabo, saying she was targeted following her criticism of a disputed election in the semi-autonomous island archipelago of Zanzibar in 2015.