We're deep in winter now! Hope you're all staying warm. Happy Tuesday and welcome to Melville Untold.

In today’s newsletter,

• Meet Your Ward 87 Councillor 👨‍✈️

• Joburg Water Questions Filed ⛲️

• A Legacy Business Closes Down 😓

Let’s go. 

— Aubrey Moloto, Kele Jackson

The Digest

Meet Your Ward 87 Councillor

It's time we give our councillor a proper introduction.

A councillor is a government-elected representative for a specific area within a city's council.

There are different types of councillors: ward councillors who are tied to geographical areas sectioned as wards, and proportional representation councillors who can move around the city and are deployed by their party as needed.

About Ward 87 and Melville

Melville forms part of Ward 87 within the City of Johannesburg Municipality. Our ward consists of nine suburbs: Auckland Park, Brixton, Forest Town, Greenside, Parktown, Parkview, Richmond, and Westcliff.

Kyle Jacobs of the Democratic Alliance serves as our ward councillor. He took over from Bridget Steer in August 2024, who served as our councillor for eight years before him.

Kyle's Background

Councillor Kyle Jacobs was born and raised in Johannesburg within Region B. He attended Northcliff Primary and High School, earned a BCom Law degree from Varsity College, and completed his LLB at Wits.

As a student, Kyle developed a deep sense of patriotism and became interested in governance and politics. He initially thought politics might be something to pursue later in life. However, he wasn't happy with the country's direction. Seeing massive political and government failures, he had to get involved.

His Political Journey

Kyle applied for the DA's young leaders programme, excelled, and started to get elected into the party's structures. His early roles included:

• Co-opted as Branch Youth Chairperson in 2019

• Elected as Branch Deputy Chairperson in 2020

• Serving as Constituency Youth Chairperson

When the party reviewed their proportional representation lists, he was asked to stand as a candidate. The DA has a rigorous selection process involving CV submissions, extensive documentation, background checks (including criminal records and qualifications), assessments, committee screening, and selection panel interviews. Candidates are then ranked accordingly.

Following this process, Kyle was placed on the PR list and began serving as a PR councillor, initially based in Soweto.

Stepping Up for Ward 87

A vacancy arose for the Ward 87 councillor position after Bridget Steer left in May 2023. Kyle was asked to serve as interim councillor until by-elections could be held. He stepped up to the plate, eager to make a contribution, and did an excellent job seeing the term through.

On the 28th of August 2024, he was elected as the new ward councillor for Ward 87 through a by-election and emerged victorious. This increased the DA's vote share in the ward from 65% in 2021 to 83.17% in 2024.

Tackling the Big Issues

Since taking office, Councillor Jacobs has been addressing pressing ward issues. His early days involved providing support during challenging circumstances, such as water shortages due to Rand Water maintenance and extensive power outages affecting multiple areas. He has "tirelessly followed up with the City to resolve these issues and improve communication to keep residents informed."

Our councillor's top priority is resolving our water supply issues by pushing for the timely completion of planned infrastructure upgrades. He advocates for projects like the Brixton reservoir and tower, and funding for the Hursthill 2 reservoir, which currently has structural issues that impact its capacity.

Addressing vagrants illegally occupying private and public spaces is another major priority. Councillor Jacobs has engaged with the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) to assist with this issue. He's working on a coordinated approach with JMPD and SAPS to address crime and vagrancy effectively.

The councillor works with Development Planning and law enforcement to address properties that don't comply with zoning regulations and infringe on residents' rights. This involves enforcing zoning regulations and by-laws to ensure developmental compliance and enhance our community's quality of life.

Councillor Kyle Jacobs has been applying pressure on City Power to allocate more resources for addressing ongoing infrastructure issues and improving response times to outages.

He also actively tracks and pushes for timely road reinstatements in collaboration with community initiatives. Holding the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) accountable is a key focus.

His Core Values

Councillor Jacobs believes in values and principles that guide decision-making and define what a person stands for. He feels that a lack of good values and principles in government is the cause of our current state of municipal affairs.

His core values are individual freedom - an open opportunity society where everyone has equal access to opportunities and respect for the law. He sees disregard for the law in various community issues such as crime and by-law contraventions. The councillor aims to make society a better place, allowing everyone the freedom and opportunity to lead a life of dignity and prosperity.

His Approach to Governance

Councillor Jacobs emphasises the importance of engaging closely with the community to identify critical issues and develop action plans. He knows it's extremely hard to get officials to respond and resolve issues. Escalation doesn't always lead to resolution.

He believes that if good government were in place, it would be easy to effect change by starting with visible "low-hanging fruit" like potholes, street cleaning, and infrastructure repairs. These can be done quickly and make a massive impact on communities.

Is Melville Being Neglected?

We asked the councillor if he feels Melville is somewhat neglected or not prioritised regarding service delivery compared to other neighbourhoods around us. He strongly disagrees with this notion.

The councillor feels that the city's administration has "hit rock bottom or very near to rock bottom" and requires significant political change. He views the issues we face as part of a larger structural problem affecting Joburg as a whole.

The councillor believes that the decline is visible across the city, even in wealthier areas like Sandton. He says the perception that some suburbs are better off than Melville is partly due to residents' associations there investing their own money to address service delivery failures. Residents are forced to step up and fill this gap because the city can't execute its mandate.

Challenges with City Collaboration

Our councillor has continuously attempted to facilitate collaboration between the Melville Residents Association and the City. He brought different municipal boards and representatives to MRA meetings and has encountered reluctance and unwillingness from the city to engage and streamline processes such as getting wayleaves for residents to perform work.

He also points out that the city's budget is incapable of dealing with the issues. They struggle to collect revenue, which leads to the budget being adjusted downwards.

His Vision for the Future

Looking ahead, Kyle Jacobs expressed a deep love for Mzansi and truly believes it has massive potential to be one of the world's greatest nations. He's driven by the desire for all South Africans to work together as one nation, regardless of background, so we can push the country forward and achieve shared prosperity.

Personally, he aspires to make a contribution on a national level wherever he's able to.

The councillor sees Melville as a prominent area and community with great significance within the City of Johannesburg. He says that it has functioned as a key tourist hub destination and is well known to people from around and outside the city for recreational purposes. This is why he believes it's critical to help Melville thrive.

To ensure Melville prospers, it requires well-equipped, well-functioning, and efficient city administration that can provide reliable service delivery. Getting these critical things right is necessary to ensure Melville remains a community where people want to live and businesses can flourish.

The Action Plan

Our councillor has a solid action plan to address critical ward issues and pressures the city for more infrastructure resources and improved response times.

Ultimately, his goal for Melville and the city is to get basic service delivery, governance, and government issues solved and create an environment where communities can thrive.

He envisions Melville as a clean and safe community with well-maintained roads where residents and visitors can enjoy themselves, stimulate the local economy, and help small businesses.

He truly believes our neighbourhood will continue to prosper and succeed whilst remaining an important area in the city.

I Love Melville

When asked what he loves about Melville, Councillor Jacobs immediately highlighted the people. He feels that driving or walking around Melville feels like home and finds it to be a beautiful suburb with a unique look and feel, unlike any other community.

"This uniqueness contributes to Melville's significance in pop culture and its widespread recognition." He noted that this is why so many people are drawn to live here and visit our restaurants, cafés, and bars.

A moment that stood out for him happened when he was acting as interim councillor. There was a massive power outage that lasted for days—a baptism of fire in his first weeks as councillor.

Whilst dealing with City Power's struggles to locate and repair cable faults, the most memorable aspect was "the willingness of community members to... make things work".

He recalls these "little moments" of sharing with people and seeing how everyone wants the community to succeed. This contrasts with other areas where people might be more reserved, highlighting Melville's strong sense of community where people want to work and collaborate.

If you’re happy to know more about our councillor and enjoyed this week’s digest, why not buy us a coffee?

What’s Happenin’ 🤔

This weekend Titanic opens! Here's what's happening.

Check out the events calendar for regular events - The Melville Pulse Events Calendar 

Melville Weather For The Week 🧣

Brrrr! Bust out those heaters!

Wednesday 

15° 🌡️ 2°  | ☀️ |  🌧️ 0% | SSW 9 km/h 💨

Thursday  

16° 🌡️ 1° | 🌤️ | 🌧️ 1% | ENE 6 km/h 💨

Friday 

18° 🌡️ 3° | ☀️ | 🌧️ 0% | ESE 2 km/h 💨

Saturday 

20° 🌡️ 1° | ☀️ |  🌧️ 0% | NE 9 km/h 💨

Sunday

20° 🌡️ 1° | ☀️ | 🌧️ 1% | N 6 km/h 💨

Monday 

18° 🌡️ 3° | 🌤️ |  🌧️ 1% | N 4 km/h 💨

Tuesday 

19°🌡️ 3° | 🌤️ |  🌧️ 2% | SWS 4 km/h 💨

Live & Music Events Lowdown 🎸

SK has been closed for a few days but opens again on the 12th at the weekend with lots of gigs. Here are your music events for the week.

13/06 | Friday | 9 pm | Smoking Kills Bar | Emo Nite ft. Dread Zeppelin, Carmen Durst, Tats on the Rox, and Amy Artificial | Free

14/06 | Saturday | 7 pm | Smoking Kills Bar | Stuffed Animals ft. Half Price, Behated and Zondo Commission | From R80

15/06 | Sunday | 2 pm | Coca Restaurant and Lounge | Eazy G Entertainment Presents Torque Of The Town - Stance Park Off | Free

15/06 | Sunday | 6 pm | Smoking Kills Bar | Youth Day Party ft. Ganga Jaji, Klumbsy Oxx, Sherman Oaks, The Sons Of Solomon, Black Nature, Drunk Wizard, GOATBOi and MONIK | R100

For more updates as the week goes on, visit our instagram page @snapson7th or our new Melville Pulse event calendar

If our weather or comprehensive gig guide came in clutch, consider buying us a coffee. 

Civil Matters 👷‍♀️

Traffic Calming - Raised Intersection Application

The Melville Business Association's application has been provisionally approved by the Johannesburg Roads Agency to implement speed bumps on the strip. It’s still early days but this a significant stride in making Melville safer.

The next steps forward are:

1. An additional traffic study which will cost R60-80k on top of the R60k they paid, for the initial application and traffic study.

2. Following all CoJ road building guidelines.

3. Getting quotes for how much the implementation will cost. They don't want to pay R60-R80k for the study and then later find that the cost for building is not affordable. So they’re planning to secure 3-4 quotes for the cost of building.

Joburg Water Questions Filed

Today, 10 June 2025, Jonathan Thompson released a joint statement by the council about councillors filing formal questions on Johannesburg Water failures.

On Tuesday, 3 June 2025, they submitted a coordinated set of written questions compelling written responses from the executive at the next ordinary Council sitting on 25–26 June 2025.

Their questions cover urgent and unresolved failures across Johannesburg Water, including:

• A 7-month delay in awarding a tender for the Crosby Bulk Infrastructure Upgrade

• Disputed and undocumented "repairs" at Hursthill 1 and 2

• The ongoing collapse of the Commando water system in Crosby, Brixton, and Hursthill

• Ongoing throttling at Hursthill 1 and 2, justified by structural concerns but with no formal policy, oversight mechanism, or public timeline disclosed

They've also demanded clarity on:

• Why R1.7 billion in Turnaround Strategy Funding has disappeared from the 2025/26 Budget

• How water revenue was spent — and whether it was ever "ring-fenced" for infrastructure as promised by MMC Jack Sekwaila

• Why high-value tenders remain unadjudicated well beyond National Treasury timelines

• What protocols are in place for tanker delivery and public communication during outages

They say these are not political talking points. They are formal governance questions backed by Council rules and deserve formal answers on the record.

These are the councillors that submitted the questions:

• Cllr Nicolene Jonker (Ward 88)

• Cllr Kyle Jacobs (Ward 87)

• Cllr Genevieve Sherman (Ward 69)

• Cllr Chantelle Fourie Shawe (Ward 86)

They expect written replies at the 25–26 June Council sitting and claim they will not let this matter be buried.

MSI Warning

After another criminal posed as a City Power contractor and managed to gain access to a resident's home, the MSI released follow-up guidance when dealing with City Power subcontractors again.

We did a comprehensive guide in a previous issue and urged everyone to check it out if they missed it. There are simple measures you can take to prevent yourself from falling victim to these incidents!

The Tail End 🐾

Lost Pets

These are the lost pet’s of the week. Contact the details at the bottom section of each image if you have any information that can help reunite these families.

Market Watch 🎪 

Melville Market

The Melville Market at Kruisgemeente Church is having a photography exhibition by Marinus Haakman in the hall this weekend. Since the Market's first birthday, they've really been getting creative and bringing more experiences to the Market! Check them out this Saturday from 9am to 2 pm at the Kruis Church on Fourth Avenue.

Koppies Check-In ⛰

The Spruit Clean-Up

The good people at Hlanzekile River & Ocean Cleaning did a stellar job cleaning the Westdene Spruit River flowing through the Melville Koppies. They partnered up with Wits Aquatic Lab and removed a whopping 471 kilograms of waste!

Joburg Heritage is having a heritage hiking tour on the koppies on Saturday the 14th of June. This gives you a brilliant opportunity to see their handiwork first-hand and enjoy the Koppies trails, flora, and fauna.

Check out the gig guide for ticket details!

Art in Melville 🖼

Melville Mudroom’s In The Papers!

The Melville Mudroom has been featured in the Sunday Times! This establishment is quickly solidifying itself as a bona fide Melville gem! They continue to host amazing events, excel in their offerings, and create an art hub to visit. The winning streak continues.

Way to go, Melville Mudroom!

Icing On The Cake 🧁

A Legacy Business Closes Down

We're extremely sad to hear that another iconic business has closed down. In its 37th year in our neighbourhood, De La Crème has officially shut its doors.

We did a deep dive into their history and significance in our neighbourhood early this year. Check out our "37 Years of De La Crème" newsletter to learn about their life in Melville.

Goodbye, De La Crème.

Thank you! 🙏

Thank you for hanging out with us! If you enjoyed this week's newsletter, consider buying us a coffee.

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'Til next Tuesday, Melville.

Stay warm, stay wild and stay wonderful!

Doei! ✌️