The government appears to have a tidy amount of loose change that is just begging to be spent -- Sh9.6 million per year to be precise.

This is what Public Service head Francis Muthaura is threatening to pay out in allowances to Mrs Ida Odinga and Mrs Pauline Musyoka per year, starting from July.

I live in hope that someone will stop this project. It is ill-timed and out of sync with the needs of present-day Kenya. There is no convincing reason for it, and the two ladies at the centre of the storm give the impression they know just as little about their Sh400,000 per month pay package as the rest of Kenyans.

Mrs Odinga has denied receiving any official communication of this windfall, and we can safely assume that she did not ask for it in the first place and, therefore, does not need it.

She had an impressive wardrobe before her husband became Prime Minister, and is quite adept at entertaining her political guests within their means -- and has done so all these years without any official help.

The Vice-President's wife has maintained her silence in typical fashion. As a top flight civil servant, she is already receiving a Sh500,000 package out of the public kitty. It is unlikely that she demanded the extra pay, given her unassuming personality.

It would appear, then, that someone somewhere wants to spend Sh800,000 a month putting out a fire that does not exist. Official functions and projects have always been funded through the relevant kitty.

There have been no public protests that Kenya's image has been compromised by a lack of style and panache in our top political wives. If something isn't broken, why fix it?

If those responsible for the decision feel a need for extraordinary measures to deck the women out on special occasions, they could easily raise an invoice and chalk down any additional expenses to the cost of each function.

That way, we get to pay only for services rendered and goods supplied and, better still, keep the peace.

The only official communication received so far, reportedly from the Government Spokesman, Dr Alfred Mutua, is that the letters of offer had been sent and received.

He can do better than this. This comes nowhere close enough to dealing with the backlash that has followed the news.

Kenyans are in serious distress. Someone needs to allay their fears that this may be just another conspiracy to continue a trend that has seen politicians rewarded handsomely at the expense of those who really need to be cushioned against poverty.

Even those that are not taking it personally would like to know how and why this decision was reached.

If they are going to pay for hostess services, how will they measure how well that person is doing her job when it is not even defined in the official books?

Their scepticism is justified. After all, the performance of the only other political wife to get an official pay package, complete with staff and furnished office, has not been evident in recent times.

If this hullaballoo has proved anything, it is that the days of "royal" declarations are over.

In the new democratic dispensation, there is an expectation that we will not be ambushed with news that we will be expected to fork out this kind of money without debate and no consideration for people who are already reeling under a cost of living that has shot through the roof.

If anyone expects the people to pay for additional services, it is just right and proper that the matter be discussed in the traditional way that Government spending is requested and approved - through budgets presented to Parliament and discussed exhaustively.

Any attempts to sneak such expenses through the back door should be rejected outright.

Just recently, we were bombarded with media adverts telling us that good service from the Government machinery is our right. It has been almost a week since the news broke, and there are still more questions than answers over this controversy.

To ignore this negative sentiment is to court trouble. These are sensitive times for those who hold political office.

Regardless of how the decision came about in the first place, the two families involved must realise that perceptions that they are aloof can only feed speculation that they may have been party to a deal that is decidedly sour.

This is especially so given the two men's very vocal objection to allowances given to First Lady Lucy Kibaki.

Whereas the women are under no legal obligation to respond to public pressure, they would do their image a power of good if they went on air today and did either one of two things: They could reject the offer graciously and suggest that whoever came up with the idea find other things to do with the money.

The mood is right for taking the moral high ground, and they would get bonus points for it.

Alternatively, they could suggest that, if the Government feels compelled to give them handouts, it should direct the money to their favourite charities.

There is no shortage of deserving causes that could do with donations.

Try the myriad orphans, internally displaced people, Gender Violence Recovery Centre, anti-retroviral drugs, more toilets in slums -- need we say more?