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Service - Leadership in Government - Issue 75

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S editor’s note At

S editor’s note At your service Service L E A D E R S H I P I N G O V E R N M E N T THE GLOBAL GREEN ECONOMY ISSUE 75 JAN-FEB 2021 BUILDING BACK BETTER ON FOOD AND AGRICULTURE President Cyril Ramaphosa specified seven national priorities in his State of the Nation Address in 2019. These priorities include economic transformation; education, skills and health; consolidating social image through reliable and quality basic services; spatial integration, human settlement, local government; social cohesion and safe communities; capable ethical and developmental state, as well as a better Africa and world. These seven national priorities are the pillars that structure the editorial content of Service magazine, a quarterly journal that provides a focused channel of communication to the government for the business community. We communicate to all levels of government, from local to provincial to national. We seek to catalyse the notion that working together, government and business has the power to heal this land and to revive the Democratic South African spirit we once shared. Thirty years ago, Nelson Mandela walked out of the gates of Victor Verster Prison – and filled this country with pride, dignity and most of all – a united hope for a bright future. Just under a year after SONA 2019, the world changed its priorities – and the people’s priorities were penalised by a pandemic. In March 2020, President Ramaphosa announced lockdown in South Africa for 21 days. At the time of writing, the country’s only armour is our face mask and the knowledge that South Africa has had 921 922 Covid-19 recorded cases to date. The Black Death killed almost 40% of Europe’s population and within 200 years, cities had, on average, returned to their former population levels. Throughout history, cities devastated by disease and damaged from disaster have persisted and have lived to the test of time. The value of a city is irreplaceable. And the decisions and actions that cities make today will forever transform their trajectory (page 26). The world’s coronavirus response will have a long-lasting impact on the energy transition path. Read more about the global green recovery (page 6). An African approach to green industrialisation is about an all-inclusive modernisation of economic transactions, smart urban regulation and the juncture of land-use planning and infrastructure investment (page 14). Food systems that must give daily sustenance to all humans on the planet are under threat from the pandemic. We need to transform our food security for a more resilient and equitable future (page 16). Service’s objective is to support government leaders as they plan and take the action needed for our communities, districts, provinces and the nation. And each one of the seven national priorities lies at the foundation of the reason and recovery for our communities, our cities, our country, our planet. The pandemic has given rise to a second chance, an opportunity to build it back better. So, leaders of both the public and private sectors, let’s pause to ponder the possibilities – of what could be in our nation as we enter 2021. Alexis Knipe Editor THE GLOBAL GREEN ECONOMY T H E G L O B A L G R E E N E C O N O M Y IT INFRASTRUCTURE: THE PILLAR OF DIGITAL GOVERNMENT GLOBAL CITIES: NEW PRIORITIES FOR A NEW WORLD DRIVING INVESTMENT INTO OIL AND GAS POST-COVID RECOVERY FOR AFRICAN CITIES Editor: Alexis Knipe | Publishing director: Chris Whales | Managing director: Clive During | Online editor: Christoff Scholtz | Design: Simon Lewis Production: Aneeqah Solomon | Ad sales: Venesia Fowler, Tennyson Naidoo, Tahlia Wyngaard, Marco Gibbs, Tanya Duthie, Madeleine Jansen Administration & accounts: Charlene Steynberg, Kathy Wootton | Distribution & circulation manager: Edward MacDonald | Printing: FA Print Service magazine is published by Global Africa Network Media (Pty) Ltd | Company Registration No: 2004/004982/07 Directors: Clive During, Chris Whales | Physical address: 28 Main Road, Rondebosch 7700 | Postal address: PO Box 292, Newlands 7701 | Tel: +27 21 657 6200 | Fax: +27 21 674 6943 | Email: info@gan.co.za | Website: www.gan.co.za No portion of this book may be reproduced without written consent of the copyright owner. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Service magazine, nor the publisher, none of whom accept liability of any nature arising out of, or in connection with, the contents of this book. The publishers would like to express thanks to those who Support this publication by their submission of articles and with their advertising. All rights reserved. 4 | Service magazine

Infrared thermometers for 2021 The National Metrology Institute of South Africa, (NMISA) is contracted by the government to maintain South Africa’s National Measurement Standards and ensure they remain internationally equivalent. Reliable measurements for testing is not foremost in the minds of South African citizens. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought the measurement of temperature into our daily lives. Most citizens have had their forehead temperature measured employing a non-contact, infrared thermometer as a preliminary Covid-19 screening intervention. Clinically speaking, if a person’s core temperature is around 37°C, it would be considered normal and the person healthy and Covid-19 asymptomatic. However, a core temperature measurement result of 38°C or higher would be considered an indicator of possible Covid-19 infection. A body infrared thermometer is an optoelectronic instrument that is capable of non-contact infrared temperature measurement when placed at a certain distance from the subject’s body surface. Most of the body infrared thermometers can display the body core temperature inferred from the skin temperature they measure. However, the accuracy of the IR thermometer is significant and what matters. Infrared thermometers have an optical lens, just like a video camera, but instead of an optical detector on the inside, they have a thermopile which converts the infrared radiation into electrical energy. The thermopile gets hotter as it absorbs more and more infrared energy. The electrical output can then be translated into the temperature of the object. If the measurement is higher than the person’s actual temperature, there is a risk that time, effort and medical resources will be wasted until the test result comes back negative. These resources could have been better spent on an infected person. Cases of Covid-19 infection could go undetected and a potentially infected person sent back into society where they could infect others. S WHERE CAN YOU GO IF YOU DOUBT THE OUTCOME OF YOUR COVID-19 SCREENING BASED ON YOUR FOREHEAD TEMPERATURE? • Kindly visit the NMISA website and social media pages, where we share ample information. • Website: www.nmisa.org • Facebook: www.facebook.com/NMISouthAfrica • Twitter: www.twitter.com/NMISouthAfrica • Instagram: www.instagram.com/nmisouthafrica •Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/national-metrology-institute-of-south-africa

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