Radio Address by Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr.
on Security Improvements at Estate Mafolie

November 6, 2009

GOVERNOR de Jongh: It is said that oftentimes in politics events can take on a life of their own. And in some sense that is what I believe has been happening in the recent past with the discussion about what work was done to provide security enhancements on the property where my family and I live. 

For some time now, it has seemed quite important for some to make a number of remarkable allegations about what was done, including saying that public monies were being spent to improve my private home as opposed to providing security to the property where my home is located. The range of allegations went so far as to commenting on my children… where they are and what they do.

So, let me tell you what happened, what decisions I made, what actions government officials took, what funding was spent – and most importantly, why.

When I was elected in November 2006 I lived in Estate Mafolie with my wife, Cecile, my three children and my wife’s great aunt – who has since passed – but who lived with us for over ten years and for whom my wife was a primary caregiver. What we wanted for our family was to try to maintain the regular routines for our children despite the fact that my wife – now our First Lady – and I would have to spend much time during evenings and weekends at public events and appearances. 

We accepted that this was part of the job that we had worked so hard to earn from you, the voters, but we also knew that the demands of the office would pull on our family. We were, at the same time, like all parents, eager to protect our children and ensure their daily routines remained as normal as possible.

And it became clear that the issue of protection was to become an immediate concern. The security detail assigned to me as Governor reported that the Estate Catharineberg property lacked the security fencing, surveillance cameras and the other necessary equipment that constituted the minimum requirements to provide adequate security in this post-9/11 world. 

Furthermore, it would likely take much of my first year in office to prepare that property for my family at a cost many times more than the cost of enhancing security at my home. I knew that Estate Catharineberg was not then – and still is not now – an official home for the Governor but rather a magnificent historical site that should be – and has been – made available for a wide range of public and charitable functions.

I also knew that were my family to live at Estate Catharineberg it would cost the Government an estimated several millions of dollars to improve and repair the residence plus an additional expenditure of public funds for domestic and household staff and other operating expenses.

Even though prior governors lived at Catharineberg, it is not now and never was an official residence. And, of course, I knew that no Governor had lived at Government House on St. Thomas since Governor Farrelly. It is the “official residence” but no longer provides housing for the Governor. 

Spending a lot of time after my election worrying about whether my family should relocate was not a priority. Cecile and I were content to remain in our own home with our family. And, once I was told that security improvements were required, my primary question was how this should be done legally, openly and transparently.

So, I instructed that nothing could be done until we got a legal opinion – an opinion of the Attorney General. That was requested and received. And it authorized the spending of public funds for security measures since there was a public purpose for the project.

With that legal opinion, and with clear recommendations from the security personnel for perimeter security, parking and entry of vehicles, and camera surveillance, a public and open process was the only way I could, or would, go forward. Such a process was initiated.

Nothing was hidden. Public funds were made available by the Legislature. 

And no amount of after-the-fact politicizing of the issue can change the fact that construction was duly authorized and that construction was done, only after a public, open procurement process. Nothing was hidden. Everything was open. 

Advertisements requesting proposals or bids were published in local papers. Contractors replied. The Department of Property and Procurement considered these bids properly and entered into contracts to do this work. If I was hiding something I don’t think bid notices in the papers is much of a way to hide. 

What is also undeniable is that a considerable amount of money was spent to provide the fencing, driveway and guardhouse designed and built to secure my residence. And this is, indeed, one of the aspects of this situation that I find the most troubling, yet it was a process subject to competitive bidding and pricing. 

With 20-20 hindsight, some things might have been done differently, but I was, of course, trying to put together a government in those early months, and I was never focused on the details of what was being done. Perhaps I should have been more so. Certainly those who were working on this project were trying to do the best job they could to build appropriate structures and fencing to meet the security requirements. My family and I are grateful for the work they did and the professionalism they exhibited. And surely we all understand that I was not involved in setting the price or cost of what was done. Those costs were set by public process and the construction process. 

What has happened since this work was undertaken can best be described as unfortunate. The fact that this issue was allowed to get to this point is something that I regret. The people of our Territory did not need to be subjected to this distraction and if, because I did not speak out earlier on this issue, I have contributed to it reaching this point, I wish to apologize. I apologize to the people for not being clearer about what my, and my family’s, intentions are with respect to these security enhancements.

I now believe that I could have helped to avoid all of this by making known earlier my intention and Cecile’s that there would be no possibility that we would improperly benefit by what was done to provide security for our family.

So let me be absolutely clear to all of the people of the Virgin Islands. At the end of my term of office, whatever security enhancements were placed on my property that can be removed, will be removed and remain the property of the Government of the Virgin Islands. Whatever is left on my property, I will pay for. Whatever is left will be appraised to determine its value at the time when I am no longer entitled to security services provided by the Government. And I will pay the Government that amount. 

I will be instructing the Commissioner of Public Works to provide the Attorney General, a listing of what was done and its cost. I will also be instructing the Attorney General to prepare a legal and binding agreement that sets forth my commitment to do the following: at the end of my term of office, and after the removal of whatever physical improvements and equipment are removed, an appraisal of the value of what remains shall be provided to me and my wife as the owners of the real property upon which the improvements were made. Within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 180 days, we shall pay over this sum to the Government. This agreement -- my commitment--- will put to rest any concern that any reasonable person could have that somehow my family will be gaining anything of value from the security improvements done to our property. 

While I have acknowledged the high cost associated with the security improvements and my plan to address this matter, I would be remiss if I did not comment on the irresponsible statements made by some in our community about government employees who each day do the best they can. The employees who worked on this project and defended the decision and their actions at a recent legislative hearing on this matter have been subjected to personal abuse without justification. 

While the Senate was well within its right to hold oversight hearings on this matter, it is unfortunate however, that for the pure enjoyment of political gamesmanship some would subject these employees to talk radio conspiracy chatter, web blogs and lawsuits. As government officials we are all subject to the oversight and transparency in our public actions, but when my political enemies decide to rope in the dedicated and talented employees whose names are not on an election ballot, in their individual capacities, we are going down a slippery slope.

Each day my Administration continues to focus on what is important to ensure that we keep Government offices open and functioning, that we increase our tourism presence with additional airline seats and increased cruise ship calls, that we commence capital projects to provide jobs for our local contractors and their employees, that we address health care, law enforcement and education issues as we work to get through this very difficult and challenging economic period.

There is more than enough real work for all public officials to do. We must get on with it and try for as long as possible to leave the distractions of partisan politics to the side. Everything is not and should not be politics. 

Good policy must be based on facts and based in reality. Just saying things should be different does not make it so. We must balance what we have with what we need, not what we wish for. 

We shall move forward together and do what we have to build a better and brighter future for us all. Thank you for listening.

God Bless you and God Bless the Virgin Islands. 

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