The Square Kilometre Array and Radio Astronomy: What Does it Hold for Africa?

Radio astronomy has a long history of discovery. The discovery of pulsars, cosmic microwave background radiation and the first extra-solar planet, among others, benefited not only astronomy as a discipline, but also other areas of science such as cosmology, and marked the beginning of great advancement in this field, including innovations in technology. Yet for the past 27 years or more, radio astronomy has been using the same research facilities, whereas other areas of astronomy, such as high-energy astrophysics and optical astronomy, have been developing new facilities to push the frontiers of science to unprecedented levels. This, however, is about to change, as the radio astronomy renaissance is unfolding both in Africa and around the globe, with a plethora of radio telescopes being planned for the next 4 to 20, and some already under development. Arguably, the most exciting of these facilities is the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). This telescope and its precursor array, MeerKAT, are an epitome of what is probably the largest astronomy-based human capital development project in the world. This brief will discuss radio astronomy activities in Africa, and the challenges. It will also cover the future of radio astronomy in the continent, with special focus on SKA and MeerKAT, and how the construction of these instruments will affect human capital development in our continent.