Business woman and ward councillor Lyn David was sworn in as the mayor for the Highlands gateway township of Kainantu on Wednesday at the Goroka Court House.
Government officers in Goroka confirmed that David is the first female to have been sworn in as a town mayor in the Highlands region.
David, aged 45, hails from Henganofi and lives in Kainantu town for the past 25 years with her spouse and children operating shops and restaurants.
She was declared winner for Ward 3 in the Kainantu Urban Local Level Government in the 2013 local government elections and served as the deputy mayor until early last week when she was elected to the mayor's post by the ward councillors.
David's elevation was possible after the passing of the incumbent.
Between 2013 and 2015 she engaged youths to clean drainage and plant flowering plants in Kainantu in a bid to beauty the township.
In an exclusive interview, the mayor said she would continue to engage youths to clean the town this year.
"I also bought K40, 000 worth of corrugated roofing iron for distribution to young couples to build semi-permanent houses," she said.
The funds would be derived from K30, 000 allocated to the Kainantu Urban LLG by the Eastern Highlands Provincial Government early this year.
However, K100, 000 from the allocation was channeled into meeting the funeral expenses of the former mayor as sanctioned by the Eastern Highlands Provincial Government.
David has thanked the provincial governor Julie Soso for funding given to her to do her work.