The Zambian government has revealed plans to block some social media websites being accessed in government offices during working hours.

Zambia's Secretary to the Cabinet Rowland Msiska said the decision was made because most civil servants spend a lot of work time on facebook and other social media networks.

He said Cabinet office is working on a programme that will bar the use of certain social media during working hours.

He said the hardware and software that will be used to block the sites is already in place and that soon, the Zambian government will be filtering certain websites in government offices.

"My office is working on e-governance and Zambia Telecommunications Company, together with the Ministry of Communications, Transport, Works and Supply is already rolling it out. This is the one to be used by civil servants in offices," Msiska said.

Confirming the decision, the Minister of Communications, Transport, Works and Supply Yamfwa Mukanga said the Zambian government has decided to block access to social media in government offices because it was promoting laziness.

Mukanga said his ministry will issue a directive to the Zambia Information and Communication Technology (ZICTA) to check sites that are abused and block them so that only those that are appropriate can be accessed during working hours.

The decision to block specific sites has also filtered through to news dissemination. Many Zambians see social media and news sites as alternative sources of news because the mainstream media is controlled by the Zambian government.

Over the past few years, authorities have voiced their disapproval of the country's news websites which are accused of attacking senior government officials, including ministers and the presidency, as well as promoting hate speech.

One of the news sites, the Zambian Watchdog remains blocked in the country, although it can be accessed anywhere else.

The Zambian government alleges that the country's news sites are sponsored by the opposition political parties to blackmail the government.