Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula on Monday said he has not "lost his grip" on the taxi industry, emphasising that lawlessness would not be tolerated.

Mbalula was hosting a virtual meeting on the next phase of reopening the aviation industry, but journalists instead peppered the minister with questions about the taxi industry's defiance of lockdown regulations.

The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) and the National Taxi Alliance (NTA) at the weekend said government was not taking the industry seriously and that they have decided to take the "the bull by its horns" and go back to loading passengers at 100% capacity from Monday and disregard travel documentation.

EXPLAINER | Why taxis are defying regulations and operating at 100% capacity

In two separate virtual briefings, Santaco and NTA said they were willing to engage with government through Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, who had been postponing meeting with them multiple times.

Mbalula said because the taxi industry was not formalised, it made it more difficult to enjoy benefits offered to other industries by government.