The terrain is a cruel one for sure.
Of course, the territory is already inhabited by an interesting mix of populations, among them - the First People... humanity's living  (cultural) fossils; hunter gathers, the Bushmen (their preferred name over San or Khoisan), whose historic tale is heartbreaking and whose significance to human psychology cannot be overstated - so close are they in their traditional lifestyle to how every ancestor of ours lived ten and more thousand years ago.
Then there is the hard and uncompromising Calvinist Afrikaner culture who still own the land, 12-million hectares of which must now be forcibly bought or expropriated in order to build the SKA.
And under that turf is shale gas - ripe for fracking.
Ruling over this kettle of fish is a government of questionable competence and character.

What melodrama awaits.

Indeed, there is already a novel that explores these themes: behind the scenes, and so much more #skaNOVEL - A Trojan Affair - on Amazon and beyond.