The row had erupted while the finance minister was abroad urging investment
Barbara Hogan, the minister of public enterprises, said in a statement to Parliament: "I am now pleased to say the board has moved in the last few days, in the interests of the company and the country, to finally resolve this matter in the following manner: Mr Maroga is no longer the CEO of Eskom. The search for a new CEO will now commence."
Without naming anyone, Hogan lambasted the political groups that had tried to influence the outcome of the internal dispute and said she had come under intense pressure to protect Maroga.
She turned on the DA MPs who clapped when she announced Maroga's departure, saying: "That is exactly what I'm talking about."
In an apparent reference to the ANC Youth League, she went on: "During this period, a demand arose that the minister must provide 'leadership'. As we were to discover, the subtext of this demand was, in actual fact, a demand that I, as minister, override the board and confirm a person in his position.
"As minister, I refused to override the principles of corporate governance by imposing a person in the position of CEO without the authority of the law. The type of leadership I preferred to exercise was rather to work indefatigably behind the scenes to resolve the matter," she said.
Hogan did not explain how Maroga had been removed, but hinted at a likely challenge from the man many hold responsible for Eskom's chaotic response to the 2007 power crisis that darkened the country and shut its mines.
"We tried to pursue options of facilitation, mediation and arbitration, even a negotiated settlement," she said, without disclosing the outcome of those efforts.
At a briefing at the corporation's Gauteng headquarters, acting chief executive Mpho Makwana told reporters Maroga had left without any payout, following a tense five-hour confrontation on Wednesday.
"I am satisfied that Maroga has resigned, and that the board has accepted his resignation."
Should Maroga choose to contest the matter, the law should be allowed to take its course, he said.
The crisis erupted when Eskom chairman Bobby Godsell announced to staff last week that Maroga had resigned and the board had accepted. Maroga returned to work on Monday, however, and Godsell left, saying the government had been unable to accept the board's decision.
Maroga reportedly wrote to Hogan, who represents the government as sole shareholder of the corporation, on Monday to say he was in his office and planned to stay.
Hogan defended her week-long silence on the matter, saying her priority had been to defend good corporate governance and to protect the credibility of Eskom.
She said the row had erupted while Pravin Gordhan, the finance minister, was abroad trying to drum up investment.
Hogan condemned the allegations of racism levelled at Godsell, mainly by the ANC Youth League.
"It is very disturbing to note that this matter also became a racial football, targeting certain individuals who I believe have integrity and only the best interests of the country at heart," she said.
Responding to the challenge from Maroga's supporters to produce a letter of resignation, Makwana told The Timesthe law provided for a verbal resignation.
He dismissed reports of personality clashes between Maroga and Godsell, saying that Maroga's job was a tough one.
"There was never a matter about race, there was never a matter about the CEO and chair. What was here was a matter around the dynamic between a robust board of directors and a chief executive who had strong views about how certain things should be done.
"When that happens, you are bound to have a clash or misalignment. In that moment of this debate . Maroga offered to resign and the board accepted his resignation."
Makwana said it was his job to pick up the pieces and ease the "pain and anger" of the parastatal's employees.
Jaco Kleynhans, spokesman for the Solidarity union, welcomed Maroga's resignation and the acting chairman's words about combating employee alienation.
Other organisations that welcomed Maroga's resignation included the Freedom Front Plus, the DA and Cope.
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