Next month`s much-anticipated statement as to which country will host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope is now set to be nothing more than a discussion and negotiations between board members.

SA is up against the Australia-New Zealand joint submission in a bid to host the SKA telescope, which will be the largest in the world. The SKA site advisory committee studied both submissions and made a recommendation to the SKA board in the middle of February.

After Tuesday`s Cabinet meeting, spokesman Jimmy Manyi said 4 April would be a “significant day on the national calendar” as the announcement on which country will host the mega telescope will be made. “Cabinet is confident that Africa is ready to host the SKA in SA,” he said.

However, SKA officials have said this is unlikely to happen. According to a statement released this week, the board meeting on 3 April, at which a final decision should have been made, will be “the start of a process of discussion and negotiation between the members”. The statement says the meeting will in all likelihood not yield a final decision.

A SKA representative said this morning that there would be a media briefing next Thursday, where issues can be raised and questions posed to SKA SA director Bernie Fanaroff. "Until then we cannot issue a statement."

The SKA telescope will consist of about 3 000 dish-shaped antennae and other hybrid receiving technologies that will be spread over a vast area of up to 3 000km.

The African SKA site bid is led by SA`s Department of Science and Technology, and includes Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Madagascar, Zambia, Mauritius, Kenya and Ghana. The proposed South African site is in the Karoo semi-desert region in the Northern Cape.

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