WATCH: Your councillors for the next five years

The highly-anticipated and contested Local Municipal Elections have come and gone with the Democratic Alliance (DA) winning the majority of the northeastern suburbs.

WATCH: Ward 73 councilor Mia Snyman sends a message to residents of the area.

These elections are held every five years to elect councillors who will be responsible for governing a municipality. Municipal councils are responsible for services that impact the daily lives of citizens in their areas including water, electricity and sanitation.

The DA retained three of their wards – 72, 73 and 74 – and claimed victory in Ward 81, which was previously run by the African National Congress.

The new Ward 81 councillor, Irene Rugheimer has big plans for the area and urged residents to work with her in making the ward a better place to live in for the next five years.

Ward 81 covers Bramley Manor and Ext 1; Bramley View and extensions 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16; Casey Park; Corlett Gardens and extensions 1,2 and 3; Crystal Gardens AH; Dorelan; Dowerglen extensions 7 and 10; Dusevern and extensions 1 and 4; Far East Bank; Formain; Kew; Lyndhurst; Rembrandt Park; Whitney Gardens and River Park.

“I am looking forward to working with the residents and let’s work together and make the changes we would like to see,” said Rugheimer.

In Ward 74, Dave Fisher is the new councillor for the areas including Melrose, Melrose Estate, Birdhaven, Orchards, Rouxville, Highlands North, Raydene, Greswold, Bramley, Elton Hill, Gardens and Winston Ridge.

Fisher said that he looks forward to representing all the residents in the ward. “I hope to create and facilitate an environment where we can combine our efforts to address the aspirations of all the role players in our community,” Fisher said.

Mia Snyman, who came into office last year following the retirement of Marcell Ravid, has retained Ward 73 and looks forward to continuing serving the residents in the area.

Ward 73 covers Norwood, Oaklands, Orchards (part), Killarney (part), Lower Houghton, Upper Houghton (part), Orange Grove, Fellside, Victoria, Fairwood and Mountain View.

“I feel very honoured that the voters in Ward 73 came out in their numbers to vote for the DA yet again,” expressed Snyman.

“It shows that the voters in Ward 73 really care about what I am doing in their communities.” Snyman said that in the last eight months she has gained a lot of experience and made the right contacts in the relevant city departments and will focus on getting the basics of service delivery right in Ward 73.

Steven Kruger also comfortably retained Ward 72, even though there was a low voter turnout in the ward. He urged residents to be patient with some of the issues in the ward as it is going to take a bit of time to resolve them. “You need to give us a five-year plan and then judge us.

Most of the things are not going to change overnight but, hopefully, they will start changing a little bit faster,” said Kruger.