Kampala — INVESTORS who obtain mineral prospecting licences and later re-sale them to make profits have been warned.

Hilary Onek, the energy and mineral development minister, promised to "tighten the grip on such dishonest investors."

"They are given licences, but they do nothing on the ground.

"This denies other investors interested in mineral prospecting an opportunity of obtaining land rights and site acquisition," he said while responding to complaints raised by Russian investors, who met him at his office in Kampala recently.

Antonenko Alexander, the UGARUSS Trading House executive director, had said it was hard to get a prospecting licence from the ministry.

"We want to invest in mineral and oil prospecting, but we cannot get the licences. Instead, we are being asked by some investors to buy theirs at exorbitant prices.

"There is a problem because anybody can get a concessional licence, which makes it difficult for serious investors to get licences," he argued.

The minister promised to brief the President about the matter and also "deal with it immediately."

"This is dangerous for the development of the sector and the country. I won't allow this to continue."

He urged the Russian investors to invest in oil and hydro-power generation to propel the country's economic progress.

"I want you to participate in developing of hydro-power production on River Nile.

"You can also help us in rural electrification because electricity is the foundation of social and economic development," he said.

He said the Government was planning to build a mini-refinery as a public-private partnership arrangement with a capacity of 200, 000 barrels per day so as to supply oil to local and regional markets.

Onek explained that all the oil in the region was from Saudi Arabia, adding: "With the refinery we can channel the money to other development ventures rather than giving it away."

He also encouraged them to invest in railway transport and agriculture, especially cotton and the textile industry and piggery.