Forging local collaboration between the SKAO and Karoo stakeholders

BY LETEBELE JONES (SKAO)

The beginning of construction of the SKA telescopes comes with the important consideration of the various stakeholders in the host countries, particularly the regions where they are being built.

In South Africa, municipalities close to site in the Karoo had a series of interactions with the SKAO and the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) leadership, to engage on the SKA project. Eight stakeholder meetings took place over a six-week period between March and May 2023. Key to these meetings was getting to know who’s who, ensuring that introductions are made to the communities and their leaders and sharing with them the profile and identity of the SKAO as an observatory, the work it will be doing and the manner in which it will be doing it during both the construction and operations phases of the project.

Further meetings were organised locally allowing the SKAO to affirm its desire to involve the local communities and lay out what it may have to offer during construction. In this respect, the infrastructure construction company Power Adenco was introduced to communities in Van Wyksvlei, Carnarvon, Brandvlei and Williston, to outline the local participation plan and opportunities for local training and employment, a prerequisite imposed by the SKAO on to the companies bidding for the infrastructure work. This requirement is part of the SKAO’s commitment to capacitybuilding and job creation, as part of the observatory’s contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

There were many positive outcomes from the meetings. Municipal leaders particularly welcomed the investment in local small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) development and education, and interest was high among local people, with approximately 250 attendees at the two meetings that were open to the public.

The engagements have been a great opportunity for sharing areas of common interest and challenges in preparation and anticipation for a rewarding, positive and mutually beneficial SKA-Mid construction phase in South Africa.

One member of the community, Brandon Booysen, who owns a local SMME, said: “For me, SARAO community meetings are extremely important because you get first-hand information about projects and events at SARAO/SKAO.”

During the municipality meetings, council members thoroughly probed the SKAO and SARAO’s plans and what they would mean in the short and long term. The transparency these engagements have afforded all parties concerned has been critical to the optimisation of the social license to operate in the communities in South Africa – with this element in place, the global collaboration is in a positive place locally, to become a reality.

The SKAO/SARAO South African leadership in stakeholder engagements with municipalities in the towns of Carnarvon, Williston and Calvinia.

Credit: Letebele Jones/SKAO