Management of the Labadi Beach Hotel has donated a variety of essential items to the La Traditional Council as part of activities marking its 35th anniversary.
The items presented yesterday at the La Royal Palace in Accra included 20 cartons of Heineken, 40 packs of Bel Aqua mineral water, 10 packs of canned Coca-Cola, five packs each of canned Sprite and canned Fanta, two bottles of schnapps, two bottles of Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky, and GH¢10,000.00 in cash.
The gesture was a token of appreciation for the unwavering support the people of La have given the hotel since its establishment over three decades ago.
The delegation from the Labadi Beach Hotel included Head of Marketing, Ekua Zara Ghartey-Tsagli, Director for Food and Beverages, Kennedy Kidiiga, Internal Auditor, Seth Worlanyo Banu, Chief Security, Rashid Abdulai, Floor Supervisor, Freda Naa Adoley Odonkor and Housekeeping Supervisor, Salomey Kpakpo.
Unwaring support
Speaking during the presentation, the hotel's Head of Marketing, Ekua Zara Ghartey-Tsagli said the hotel, which has been situated on La land since its construction began more than 35 years ago, enjoys a strong bond with the community and considers itself part of the La family.
"Labadi Beach Hotel is now celebrating 35 years of operation. In fact, our association with the people of La spans more than 35 years, considering it took about 18 months to construct the hotel."
"Throughout the years, the people of La have supported us in everything we do. They have stood by us through both good and challenging times. As we celebrate this milestone, we have come to the Royal Palace to present some drinks and gifts as a token of our appreciation for their unwavering support," she said.
Mrs Ghartey-Tsagli stressed that the donation could not adequately repay the kindness and support the people of La had shown the hotel over the years, describing their contribution as "priceless."
"We are their children, I wouldn't say we are guests, we are now all family and we intend to be with them for a long time to come, so we are just showing a little token of appreciation. Money cannot even quantum the value of what they have done for us, it's priceless.," she said.
She reaffirmed Labadi Beach Hotel's commitment to maintaining its long-standing relationship with the La community and expressed hope that the partnership would continue for many years to come.
Gratitude
Receiving the items, the La Mankralo and member of the La Traditional Council, Nii Obodai Adai IV expressed gratitude to Labadi Beach Hotel for its continued support to the traditional Area.
He said the hotel's gesture was not unprecedented, adding that it had consistently donated items to the palace whenever the La people celebrated the Homowo Festival, reflecting the strong relationship between the hotel and the traditional community.
"At first, we thank them. This is not the first time they are donating these items. Anytime that we are celebrating our festival, they normally use to donate all these art items," he said.
Homowo suspension
Nii Obodai Adai IV, however, explained that this year's Homowo Festival would not be celebrated following the demise of the Lakpa Wulormor, the chief priest of La.
According to him, the traditional area is observing the customary mourning period, making it impossible to hold the annual festival.
Instead, he said, the community would perform a brief customary rite known as Nanekpa, which will take place at Lakpa We.
The ceremony, he said is expected to last about 30 minutes - a sacred traditional observance that must be performed despite the suspension of the festival.
