With his 'can-do' attitude and trademark energy, Gift of the Givers' Dr Imtiaz Sooliman has brought some hope to Nelson Mandela Bay -- a city torn apart by political bickering and severe water problems.

Confronted by a city on the brink of Day Zero (again), with a dysfunctional municipality and critically severe water and infrastructure problems, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman had one answer: "No problem is insurmountable."

Despite some good rain last week, the water levels of the Nelson Mandela Bay metro remain low and Day Zero remains an imminent threat. While the plan was to switch about 40% of the city to emergency water that had to be collected at water points over the past weekend, this plan was not activated due to the slight reprieve afforded by the rain.

The Churchill Dam, at critical levels last week, now has 107 days of water left, but there is very little water left in the other dams. On average, the city has about 2% of usable water left in its supply dams.

Sooliman was speaking at the Elizabeth Donkin Psychiatric Hospital in Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay, where his organisation, Gift of the Givers, completed a borehole with tanks to make sure...