His Premier Soccer League side Santos has confirmed the development.
Santos chairperson Goolam Allie told www.soccerladuma.com that they have already submitted the papers to the Home Affairs Department and soon Mponda will get his official permanent stay permit.
Mponda qualifiers for the permit having continuously stayed in South Africa for seven years. He joined Black Leopards in 2005 from Zimbabwean side Monomotapa FC. He moved to Santos in 2010.
“I will have it [resident permit] by the end of the season and, hopefully, next season I will be registered as a local. This is a big boost to my career as it means signing for local clubs here without worrying about the foreign quota,” said Mponda.
He also cleared the air on his lack of game time for Santos in the two recent league games.
Said Mponda: “I am slowly regaining my fitness. So the agreement with the coach is that I will be playing cup games only for now. I will not play against Golden Arrows in the league tomorrow, but will play on Saturday in the Nedbank Cup against Rosses United.”
Two other Flames players Jimmy Zakazaka and Robert Ng’ambi also qualify for the permanent residency having stayed in South Africa since 2005.
Zakazaka said he will apply for the permit at the end of the season. Ng’ambi, who is captaining Platinum Stars on temporally basis, was not available for a comment on his status.
Despite getting permanent residency, the players will still be eligible to play for the Flames as they remain citizens of Malawi.
