The new government would try to end subsidies for elites as soon as possible to provide relief to the poor people, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday.

“What is the reason for providing subsidies to the elite? The biggest contradiction is that the poor are being crushed under inflation and the elite being given subsidies,” he said while addressing the federal cabinet.

Last year, British economist Stefan Dercon told reporters in Islamabad that Pakistan’s elites are engaged in a battle for the capture of resources and power as part of a clientelist patronage state. He was of the view that their motivation does not prioritise economic growth and development in the country.

Dercon argued that there is an underlying elite bargain for the status quo among powerful elite groups comprising the leading political class, leading business class, leading individuals in the military, leading figures in civil society, leading members of the civil service, intellectuals, and journalists.

“A handful of the elite has not just encroached upon 90% of the resources but also not fulfilling their duties,” he said and added that the poor are burdened with heavy electricity bills by a group of elite.

Shehbaz went on to add that the country’s circular debt, including gas and electricity, was around Rs5 trillion, citing that there were so many reasons for that.

While speaking about GENCOs, he said that there were junks and the cost of plants run by diesel was Rs60 per unit. “If they are shut down then you can recover your losses,” he said and lamented that mafias were not letting it happen.

He was of the view that wholesalers should be taxed while speaking about the international institutions’ demand to tax the retailers.

“It’s a journey full of blood, sweat, and sacrifice,” PM Shehbaz said and called for expanding the tax base.

He told members of his federal cabinet to “perform or perish”, saying that the time is “now or never”. He said taking up the federal ministries was not a matter of dividing ministries among each other but for a united cause.

“Now we will not dither or delay things,” he said.

“Those who are good collectors are our heroes and we will encourage them and those who are black sheep will be paraded to show the difference between black and white.”