More than 100 customers from Sola NBV Branch have been forced to travel to Motalava to access banking services spending as much as VT25,000 each on boat fares, fuel, and transport.

The temporary closure of Sola NBV Branch on September 1, following a late-August break-in, has left communities across Mota, Vanualava (East and West), and Ureparapara struggling to reach financial services. The closure has now stretched to two weeks and two days, forcing many families to dig deep into their pockets just to complete basic banking.

On payday last Friday alone, more than 15 banana boats transported over 100 customers to Motalava. For many, it was their first time making such an expensive and exhausting trip.

“Normally, we only pay VT300 for a taxi, but this time we spent around VT25,000 just on fees, boat transport, and fuel,” said Howard Lonsdale, a Sola resident. “It’s a huge expense we never budgeted for.”

Others say the closure is not just costly but is hurting the wider economy. “It’s an expensive exercise — truck fees are around VT8,000, then you add the boat fee. People also can’t do their market sales, taxi drivers lose business, and shops miss out on income,” one customer explained.

The Councillor of Ureparapara, Hon. Lensy Adison, expressed his concern:

“We already face challenges in accessing banking. Now we must spend more money on transport just to use the bank, and most of our income is going into travel costs.”

According to NBV officials in Sola, repair work is ongoing after the break-in, which damaged parts of the building. They say it will take more time before the branch can safely reopen and resume normal services.