BITOU ANC mayor Lulama Mvimbi has astonished his political opponents by announcing his intention to take disciplinary action against DA councillor Elaine Paulse because she owns a fake designer handbag.

Paulse’s possession of the Louis Vuitton copy, worth less than R100, has been included for discussion on the agenda of today’s council meeting in Plettenberg Bay at Mvimbi’s request, apparently because he suspects the issue may involve a breach of the Councillors Code of Conduct.

The DA, however, said Mvimbi was abusing his position and municipal resources “to fight his personal battles”.

In September, The Herald investigated a claim by ANC Bitou secretary Lingo Sulani that Paulse had failed to declare a R20000 designer handbag that she had received as a gift. But the bag was found to be an unbranded copy, valued at less than R100.

Paulse also said the bag was not a gift – “I paid a friend R20 for it” – and that she bought it before she became a councillor and was therefore not required to disclose it.

Yesterday, she said “the real reason” behind Mvimbi’s action was because she had challenged him for wasting ratepayers’ money on unnecessary bodyguards and the R740000 BMW X5 he had acquired as his official car.

“He is abusing his position and municipal funds to take revenge on me for that. I am being victimised.

“Mvimbi thinks and acts like a child in everything he does.”

The DA caucus in Bitou said Mvimbi “has already wasted more than R1-million in municipal resources to wage his and the ANC’s witch hunt against (DA) councillor (Johann) Brummer, and now he seems hell bent on wasting another million on another kangaroo court”.

Brummer said yesterday the ANC’s priorities involved persecuting critics in “kangaroo courts on frivolous, trumped-up charges, while spending equally large sums on protecting the thieves and fraudsters in their own ranks”.

Congress of the People-aligned independent councillor Memory Booysen said he was not surprised. “The mayor has a well-established record of abusing his position and municipal funds to conduct personal vendettas by bringing frivolous legal actions against his critics and opponents.”

Earlier this year, Mvimbi accused Western Cape Education MEC Donald Grant of corrupt dealings in a land purchase, but then failed to follow up on his threat to report him to Premier Helen Zille and the Public Protector.