CASTRIES, St. Lucia, Feb 24, CMC – The St. Lucia government Friday apologised over an “Independence message” posted on the official Facebook page of Prime Minister Allen Chastanet saying that it was not approved by the relevant authorities

“The Communications Unit of the Office of the Prime Minister wishes to make it clear that as soon as we became aware of the reported Facebook post we immediately removed it from circulation. The only persons authorized to approve postings on the page is the Prime Minister himself and the Senior Communications Officer for the Government,” the government said in a statement.

It said that since coming to office in June last year “it appears that there were still individuals who had access to the Prime Minister’s Facebook page who made the posting without authorization.

“This has since been addressed internally and we assure the public this situation will not happen again and we will do all within our power to maintain the integrity of our official social media platforms.

“Despite not authorizing the mentioned Facebook post we apologize for any misunderstandings or misconceptions it may have created,” the statement added.

In the original posting, Chastanet is reported to have called on citizens to put aside their difference for the betterment of the island.

It also quoted the prime minister, who led his United Workers Party (UWP) to victory in the general elections, last June, as praising the electorate for changing a government “through a remarkably peaceful electoral process”.

But in the statement, Friday, the government said that the “Official statement for Independence Day, February 22nd 2017, was delivered…by (the) Minister for Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment Honourable Lenard Montoute at …(the) Independence Youth Rally at the Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium.

“During the period of Independence the Prime Minister delivered three statements which included a recorded Independence message to the Diaspora, an address to the audience at the Independence Ball and a brief impromptu introduction of the Minister designated officially to give the Government’s Independence Message Minister Montoute at the Youth Rally,” the statement added