Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Saturday ordered prisons authorities to ensure that inmates worked hard and stopped using mobile phones to communicate with relatives and friends.

"Most of the prisoners are not working and they are allowed to use mobile phones to communicate with their relatives or to do business outside prisons," said the president shortly after he had sworn in the new Prisons Commissioner General Phaustine Kasike at State House.

He called for transformation of the East African nation's prisons in order to instill discipline.

Magufuli said prisoners were given too much leeway and enjoyed freedom which was forbidden to people in incarceration.

The president outlined a few issues he said were what he expected from the new prisons boss, including restricting some of the freedoms and instilling work ethic in prisoners.

"I want respect for prisons to be restored," Magufuli said.

He said prisoners had to work hard, including making bricks and farming so prisons staff could have better housing and prisoners can feed themselves.

"I do not expect prison staff to lack housing while prisoners have a good place to sleep," Magufuli said, adding that prisoners were free labor that, if well utilized, could easily end the problem of dilapidated housing for staff.

The president was visibly irked by the use of illegal drugs in prisons, possession of mobile phones and enjoyment of conjugal visits for some prisoners contrary to prisons regulations.

"This is what happens in our prisons in Dar es Salaam and the leaders are there. It is a great shame. This is happening because prisoners are idle, they don't engage in hard work," he said.