WHEN he is sworn in on November 14, Montego Bay businessman Noel Sloley will become the only member of the Senate from western Jamaica. It is a job that the transportation magnate is looking forward to.

“This (appointment) has come to me as a very pleasant surprise and I accepted it with a lot of humility because a void exists in Montego Bay, in western Jamaica, for a voice to continue to articulate, to represent the needs of the people. So I view myself as a messenger for the people,” he told the Observer.

One of his first moves, he said, will be to touch base with those in the region who have ideas to share.

“The repository of all knowledge of what’s good for the total region cannot rest with me. There are so many other people so I have to go out and hear the voices, listen to them and then be a part of creating a cogent plan,” he said.

But in the meantime, he has a few ideas of his own, including plans for the tourism and industry sectors.

“There are two things that come readily to mind: how we continue to develop our tourism product and secondly, how we revisit the Montego Bay Free Zone and expand on what we have,” he said.

Free Zone expansion, Sloley stressed, would not just be limited to the existing facility.

“I am not saying we must keep all of the Free Zone facilities within the Montego Bay Free Zone because remember, we have single- entity free zones,” he explained. “But it’s to use Montego Bay Free Zone management as the catalyst and expand it down here in the western region. I certainly will be a big messenger in carrying that far and wide, locally and abroad, as part of the development thrust for new investment and job creation.”

He also intends to push for the fulfilment of promises made by Prime Minister P J Patterson to build a convention centre and a bypass road in the western city. These two projects, Sloley said, were critical to the development of the entire western region.

“I will be making my representation, my voice heard to get those off the ground because I think they will be central to the development of the region,” he said.

He added: “You have to bear in mind that my role and scope as a senator from the west cannot be only for Montego Bay. And this is something that I realise so I need to put that out there first. But naturally, because I view Montego Bay as central to the western region, whatever is good for Montego Bay it’s going to follow it’s going to have an impact on the remainder of the region.”

He added that his efforts will also include working closely with local and central government to ensure that problems such as traffic congestion, getting and keeping the tourist resort clean and upgrading the downtown section of the city are addressed.

Sloley’s role in the Upper House will be a vital one for the parish of St James where the Opposition represents three of the four constituencies, including North West St James where the city’s business base rests.

“My job today will be to work with all interested parties and agencies who genuinely want to move in a positive direction for the development of the area. If the member of parliament for North West St James (Dr Horace Chang) has those desires he will have my full support in anything which is good for the people,” Sloley vowed.

And while he agreed that he will have his hands full with his new role, Senator Sloley stressed that he did not anticipate that it would impact upon the operations of his transportation company, Jamaica Tours Ltd. According to Sloley, he has a very able slate of employees who are quite capable of running the company without his daily intervention.