President Magufuli made the revelation live on television this morning in a speech to the Association of Local Authorities as he emphasised the importance of his anti-corruption drive.

Some board members of public organisations used to travel all the way to Dubai to hold their meetings there just so that they could pay themselves a hefty amount of per diems. They certainly don't like what my government is doing now"

Nicknamed "the bulldozer", Mr Magufuli, who took office in 2015, is known for making spot visits to state-run institutions in his efforts to root out absenteeism and corruption.

Last year, one opposition MP dared the president to declare his salary and argued the president should pay taxes