We, the government, and people of the Northern Cape welcome the decision that was taken by the Square Kilometre Array Organization in the Netherlands.
We realize that it might not be an ideal decision, but based on the collective wisdom of the SKA Board, we believe that it is an appropriate scientific decision. This decision comes at a time when Africa is celebrating the 49th Anniversary of the launch of the Organization of African Unity, which is today known as the African Union.

The decision for a dual site solution in essence still provides Africa with a victory, because of the fact that majority of the dishes would be located within the African site. More than 70% of the telescopes will be located within Africa. This element of the decision reaffirms our collective view that indeed Africa is an ideal site to host the SKA. It further emphasizes the fact that Africa has the potential to make significant scientific breakthroughs.

We need to further highlight that the greater part of the telescope has been allocated to the South African site, due to the ideal and excellent environmental conditions.

As a province we are grateful that we could respond to our national government’s call to become the host province to a project of this magnitude. This gigantic project has and will create both direct and indirect opportunities for the people and businesses in the region and province as a whole, especially the youth who can pursue skills in the fields of Science, Engineering, Technology, Artisanry and so on. We, the people of the Northern Cape will continue to make sure that the generations to come will reap the benefits that are brought about by a project of this nature.

We are proud as the Northern Cape Province, following our active involvement since 2006, in the development of the Karoo Array Telescope (KAT7) and the MeerKAT and our inputs into the overwhelmingly successful bid documents. We thank our Provincial Government Departments for their participation in ensuring a successful delivery of the KAT7.

The 25th May 2012 will forever go down in the history books that South Africa and Africa has affirmed its ability of being an ideal place for scientific achievements and breakthroughs. The Northern Cape has through SALT, KAT7 and MeerKAT proven that we have the potential to be an astronomy hub, where various scientific accolades can be achieved, in the world. We have no doubt that the SKA (South Africa) team will continue to amaze the science world on what it is capable of.

We wish to express our appreciation for the leadership of President Jacob Zuma and the Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, for the sterling job they have performed. We further wish to acknowledge and appreciate the high level of collaborative efforts between the National, Provincial and Local Government spheres.

Issued by:

Northern Cape Provincial Government
Office of the Premier
Contact:
Monwabisi Nkompela
071 109 2776