South Africa, in partnership with eight other African countries, will today submit its final bid documents to host the world’s largest radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). The Democratic Alliance fully supports South Africa’s bid and recognises the ingenuity, technical excellence, hard work and dedication of everyone involved in finalising the bid. We believe South Africa, which is competing against Australia to host the telescope, stands an excellent chance of winning.

South Africa’s final presentation to the bid committee, led by Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor, took place in Canada in June. The presentation showcased our country’s world-class innovation and technical expertise which is being used in SKA’s precursor telescope, the MeerKAT (Karroo Array Telescope). The SKA project comprises 3 0000 satellite dishes, with the main site situated at Carnarvon in the Northern Cape, and satellite stations located throughout the rest of Africa.

Winning the bid will establish our country as a leader in innovation, science and technology and will provide an African-based platform for international scientists to explore the most exciting scientific ideas. Enterprise and job-creation spinoffs will be created through, for example, advanced instrument design and manufacture, computer software and hardware engineering, advanced telecommunications – all of which will showcase African innovation. These will provide inspiration for young people to study maths and science, knowing there are exciting job opportunities in the knowledge-based economy we all strive for.

This is an African bid. Winning it will promote regional co-operation among Africa’s scientific community and place the African continent at the forefront of astronomy research. If successful, and we believe there is every chance of success, South Africa and the rest of the continent will reap the benefits for many years to come.